Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis—Advice for a New Presidential Term
SBCA organized a panel dispensing advice to the incoming Biden administration on improving and expanding the use of benefit-cost analysis.
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Telemedicine & Initiating Buprenorphine Treatment
Federal regulators dramatically reduced the barriers to using telemedicine to treat opioid use disorder in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Public health experts have long argued that health care practitioners can provide high-quality treatment for opioid use disorder via telemedicine. Until now, federal regulation has limited the ability of practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine, one of the medications considered the gold standard for treatment of opioid use disorder, using telemedicine.
Regulatory Sentiment and Uncertainty under the Trump Administration
The impact of regulatory policy depends on how it is designed and implemented, but public perceptions and subjective attitudes about regulation can also play important roles in how it affects the economy. Using newspaper text, I track sentiment and uncertainty about regulation until January 31, 2021 and discuss how they changed during the Trump and previous administrations in this commentary.
Extending Executive Order 12866 to Independent Regulatory Agencies
A DOJ opinion means that the president can require the independent agencies to perform benefit-cost analyses of all significant regulations.
A Last-Minute Attempt to Partially X the X Waiver
Although HHS appears to have the legal authority to provide exemptions from buprenorphine requirements, taking time to ensure flexibilities are legally defensible will promote the uptake of the policies in the long term.
The Regulators' New Marching Orders
Biden's Inauguration Day actions foreshadow a move away from the bipartisan emphasis on evidence-based policy and signal a less humble approach to regulating.
Two Rules President Biden Needs To Make His Ambitious Environmental Agenda Successful
Two Trump-era EPA rules President Biden is targeting for removal could help, not hinder, his ambitious regulatory goals.
The Regulatory Savvy of Biden’s Early Executive Actions
Just hours after his inauguration, President Joe Biden set in motion a series of executive actions that will shape his regulatory agenda. Taken together, they demonstrate that the incoming administration will be responsive to complaints about the regulatory system it is inheriting while still relying on time-tested and valuable analytical techniques and processes.
The study of Congress largely focuses on its members, committees, and leaders. Meanwhile, the study of federal agencies tends to focus on those that fall within the executive branch. But many agencies and institutions exist to support Congress, and administrative law and political science scholarship has largely overlooked their internal operations.
2020 Regulatory Year in Review:
This Regulatory Insight recaps ten notable themes related to federal regulations that occurred in 2020. Regulatory policymaking frequently intersected with noteworthy challenges facing the country.