Parsing the Proposals for Modernizing Regulatory Review
President Biden’s Executive Order 14094 “Modernizing Regulatory Review” introduces significant changes in how the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) defines the economic significance of rules and approaches its public engagement. Explore the changes and potential impacts in our series below.
Event
On May 9, 2023, the Regulatory Studies Center and the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis hosted panel discussions exploring the administration's proposals for Modernizing Regulatory Review. The morning panel featured administrators of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from the Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations sharing perspectives and opportunities for making the regulatory review process more transparent, inclusive, and valuable to policy design. The afternoon panel brought experts in regulatory impact analysis at the federal level who explored in more depth the draft changes to Circular A-4.
Peer Review
Peer Reviewer Comments on Proposed OMB Circular No. A-4, “Regulatory Analysis” (Full PDF document)
Individual Peer Reviewer Comments by Joseph Cordes
Public Interest Comments
Open Letter to the OIRA Administrator On Circular A-4, by 15 former presidents and editors of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis (SBCA), August 28, 2023
Using Distributional Weights in Circular A-4 Would Encourage Wasteful Rent-Seeking, Brian Mannix, June 20, 2023
The Discounting Dilemma, Brian Mannix, June 20, 2023
Simpler, More Transparent Analysis Will Make Circular A-4 More Valuable to the Regulatory Process, Christopher Carrigan and Stuart Shapiro, June 19, 2023
OMB Draft Circular A4: Safeguarding Objective and Evidence-Based Principles for Regulatory Impact Analysis, Susan Dudley, June 14, 2023
On Draft Circular A4, Behavioral Biases, and Discount Rates, J. Howard Beales III, June 5, 2023
Distributional Weights Should Be Dropped from the Draft Circular A-4, Mary Sullivan, May 31, 2023
Commentaries
New Goals, Old Tools: Broadening Public Participation in the Regulatory Process in the Biden Administration. Steve Balla and Sarah Hay.
November 28, 2023
Comparing the Draft and Final Circular A-4. Mark Febrizio, Sarah Hay, and Zhoudan (Zoey) Xie.
November 10, 2023
Promoting Best Practices for US Regulatory Analysis, Joseph Cordes, Susan Dudley, Donald S. Kenkel et al. The Regulatory Review.
October 12, 2023
Recent Antitrust and Regulatory Changes Both Unravel the Consensus. Susan Dudley and Mary Sullivan for Truth On the Market.
September 18, 2023
Maintaining the Durability of Regulatory Analysis. Susan Dudley interviewed by The Regulatory Review on the 20th anniversary of the original OMB Circular A-4, Regulatory Analysis.
September 17, 2023
Biden’s OMB Politicizes Cost-Benefit Analysis. Susan Dudley and W. Kip Viscusi for the Wall Street Journal
August 28, 2023
This Other Fed Keeps Lowering the Interest Rate. By Susan Dudley for Forbes.com.
August 8, 2023
OIRA's New Guidance on Public Engagement, Sarah Hay.
August 1, 2023
Care to Comment? Topics Discussed in Revised Circular A4 Public Comments. By Zhoudan (Zoey) Xie, Sarah Hay & Henry Hirsch
July 12, 2023
OMB Guidance Needs More Humility. By Susan Dudley for Forbes.com.
July 11, 2023
Weighing Regulatory Tradeoffs – And Keeping Thumbs Off The Scales! By Susan Dudley for Forbes.com.
June 30, 2023
Circular A-4: A Comparison between the 2023 Draft and the 2003 Circular. By Sarah Hay and Zhoudan (Zoey) Xie
June 16, 2023
Adding Engagement Upstream by Bridget Dooling considers the measures proposed in the Modernizing Regulatory Review actions designed to increase proactive outreach for the rulemaking process. Published in the Yale JREG Notice & Comment symposium.
June 2, 2023
In her post, Circular Reasoning?, Susan Dudley evaluates the OMB Draft Circular A-4 for the Yale JREG Notice & Comment symposium
May 25, 2023
Susan Dudley's analysis for Forbes digs deeper into definitional terms: Regulatory Review Revisited
April 13, 2023
Susan Dudley shares an initial take in Modernizing Regulatory Review Actions
April 7, 2023
Bridget Dooling introduces the EO and major themes for the Yale JREG Notice & Comment blog: White House Moves to Modernize Regulatory Review
April 6, 2023
Podcasts
December 4, 2023: New Goals, Old Tools: Broadening Public Participation in the Regulatory Process in the Biden Administration, Steve Balla and Sarah Hay.
August 15, 2023: Discounting to Achieve Policy Preferences, Susan Dudley.
August 2, 2023: Overview of OIRA's Guidance on Public Engagement for Federal Agencies, Sarah Hay.
June 20, 2023: Safeguarding Objective and Evidence-Based Principles for Regulatory Impact Analysis. Susan Dudley discusses the Draft Circular A-4 and its durability.
June 12, 2023: Challenges With Distributional Weighting in the Draft Circular A-4. Mary Sullivan explains how weighting lessens transparency and creates trade-offs in economic efficiency of regulations.
April 26, 2023: What’s In the EO on Modernizing Regulatory Review? Mark Febrizio and Bridget Dooling unpack the highlights and discuss next steps in the proposal.
Additional Resources
- Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993
- Executive Order 14094 of April 6, 2023
- Request for Comments on Guidance Implementing 12866 Meeting Request Provisions of EO 14094
- Request for Comments on Revisions to Circular A-4
- Request for Comments on Revisions to Circular A–94
- Request for Nominations of Experts to Peer-Review Draft Guidance on Conducting Analysis of Federal Regulations
- White House announcement: Experts Chosen for OMB Circular A-4 Peer Review, June 20, 2023
- Susan E. Dudley for Regulation & Governance (July 2020): The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Durability of Regulatory Oversight in the United States