Regulation by Executive Order

Editor’s Note:  A major report from SafeGov.org authored by Julie M. Anderson, Karen S. Evans, Franklin S. Reeder and Meghan M. Wareham is attached here.  The paper’s Recommendations to OMB are reprinted below.  The paper also includes a message from the National Academy of Public Administration.

Recommendations

To better secure information and improve information security evaluations across government, the report team recommends OMB direct the following policy changes:

1.   IGs should adopt the enhanced risk management framework and submit a FISMA Evaluation Plan to OMB by no later than May 2013;

From: Regulatory Cyber Security: The FISMA Focus IPD

On March 28th, NIST and NTIA will publish a Federal Register notice opening an Inquiry into “Incentives to Adopt Improved Cybersecurity Practices.”  An advance copy of the Notice is attached here.  The Inquiry is in response to the President’s Directive to the Secretary of Commerce contained in Executive Order 13636, Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.  The Notice explaines that

From: CIO

Kenneth Corbin

Over the past several years, members of Congress have made significant progress in identifying the challenges of the cyber threat and coordinating with industry to develop a response, according to John Rockefeller (D-W.V.), the chairman of the Senate commerce committee.

At the same time, Rockefeller did not mask his frustration that the comprehensive cybersecurity bills that he and others have drafted have stalled, prompting the White House to issue an executive order in February calling for, among other things, an improved system for sharing information about threats and attacks.

Editor’s Note:  The new cybersecurity Executive Order is attached here.

The regulatory nature of the Order was made evident in Sec. 10.b’s discussion of agencies proposing “prioritized, risk-based, efficient, and coordinated actions, consistent with Executive Order 12866…” and in the Section’s frank discussion of “cybersecurity requirements.”

The Order’s strong emphasis on use of private sector standards is very significant along with the Order’s instance on cost-effectiveness. What remains to be seen is the extent to which industry compliance with the Order provides companies with safety from regulatory and legal hazards.

From: Bloomberg

By Lisa Lerer

When President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the biggest question he’ll face will be how to get an ambitious second-term agenda through a divided Congress.

The answer: Go around it.

On climate change, gun control, gay rights, and even immigration, the White House has signaled a willingness to circumvent lawmakers through the use of presidential power. Already, plans are being laid to unleash new executive orders, regulations, signing statements and memorandums designed to push Obama’s programs forward and cement his legacy, according to administration aides and allies.

From: Jurist/Sidebar Brief

Joseph Marren, President and Chief Executive Officer of KStone Partners LLC, in a continuance of a previous piece, reviews the history of financial reporting by the federal government.

From: Routledge/Taylor & Francis

By Michelle C. Pautz, Sara R. Rinfret

When we think about environmental policy and regulation in the U.S., our attention invariably falls on the federal level and, more specifically, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Although such a focus is understandable, it neglects the actors most responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the nation’s environmental laws – the states.  Recognition of the importance of the states still ignores an even smaller subsection of actors, inspectors.  These front-line actors in state environmental agencies are the individuals responsible for writing environmental rules and ensuring compliance with those rules.  They play an important role in the environmental regulatory state.

From: Politico

By: Darren Goode

Who will help President Barack Obama meet his ambitious promises to tackle climate change?

Eco-celebrities and tree-climbing protesters need not apply. This is a job for wonks.

The president’s top climate appointees and the outside advisers best positioned to shape his agenda are a team replete with heavy hitters — including green-minded business leaders, buttoned-down environmental lobbyists and bureaucrats who have spent years wrestling with the minutiae of regulations.

At the outset, the group might be light in executives from the industries that would be most affected. Some of the CEOs the administration drew support from during Obama’s first term are leaving the business or moving on to other things.

From: Deseret News

By Matthew Sanders

How valuable is your time? Can you afford to lose some of it?

Throughout history we’ve observed markets emerge that help match up buyers and sellers. The New York Stock Exchange for shares of businesses, Chicago Board of Trade for commodities like food, metals and energy, and more recently eBay and Groupon for spot deals on consumer goods help make market matchmaking much more efficient and buyers and sellers happier.

Editor’s Note:  Chief Counsel for Advocacy Dr. Winslow Sargeant and his staff of skilled professionals deserve the gratitude of small businesses for their hard work in serving as “an independent voice for small business within the federal government… and [as] the watchdog for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).”  The Office of Advocacy plays an important role in making the regulatory system work better for all Americans. 

From: Government Executive

By Charles S. Clark

An independent office within the Small Business Administration has worked to block health, safety and environmental regulations on behalf of small and large businesses without appropriate technical expertise, two new studies have charged.