The OIRA Module: Published Research

From: Competitive Enterprise Institiute

Over the weekend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the 2014 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations.

If it draws attention to it at all, the administration will say it’s fiscal year 2013 rules had benefits of up to $81.4 billion annually, while costing just $2.5 billion annually. The problem is only seven rules out of thousands had benefit and cost analysis.

So, let’s back up for context. As of year-end 2013, according to the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations, 63 federal departments, agencies and commissions had just completed or were at work on 3,305 rules and regulations at assorted stages of planning and implementation (pre-rule, proposed, final, completed); of these, 191 were acknowledged to be “economically significant.”

But during calendar year 2013 though, 3,659 rules were finalized. Today’s doctrine holds that such major or “economically significant” rules (those anticipated to have an economic impact of at least $100 million) account for the bulk of regulatory costs. The OMB intones that:

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