CRE, during its forty years of existence, has focused its activities on the creation of mechanisms which ensure that federal regulations are effective, thus the basis for its name the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness. The aforementioned activities of CRE were preceded by the pathbreaking work of OMB for nearly twenty years which lead to the establishment of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs(OIRA) in the White House Office of Management and Budget in 1980. In order to provide the public with a concise description of the aforementioned mechanisms, CRE is presenting a description of each mechanism accompanied by a statement made by a nationally credentialled third party which attributes the creation of the said mechanism to the work of either OIRA or CRE.
The experience gained from the implementation of the aforementioned regulatory processes, which have existed for some six decades, will provide one basis for developing the processes that could govern the implementation of a domestic restructuring program to address the ever increasing public debt of the US government if a decision were made to do so. The utilization of US based oversight mechanisms is particularly relevant since nearly 80% of the US debt is held by domestic creditors. If the aforementioned restructuring process were to be implemented it would be managed by US based personnel but with technical support from several US based and international organizations.
Centralized Regulatory Review
When the eventual founder of CRE entered government service some sixty years ago the then prevailing statutory interpretations regarding Presidential involvement in the review of agency regulations were that the President had no direct role in such an activity because the underlying statues vested regulatory authority in the agencies not the President. In what was then believed to be the work of a program of not more than a year or two to correct a seemingly minor oversight took instead nearly twenty years to complete. The unique contributions by individuals then associated with the aforementioned effort are set forth in this statement.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Initially centralized regulatory review was conducted pursuant to a memorandum issued by the President of the United States. The resultant mechanism for centralized regulatory review was not permanent because an incoming Administration could discontinue the process. This uncertainty was addressed in part by giving centralized regulatory review a legislative basis by the passage of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Information(Data) Quality Act
A federal rule is often based upon hundreds if not thousands of pages of data and accompanying explanations. The issuance of a final rule is accompanied by the publication of the aforementioned data. In some cases the accuracy of the underlying data, either in part or in total, is questionable. The passage of the Information Quality Act allows affected parties to file petitions with a regulator to correct the said information, along with the attendant related information in the then final rule, without pursuing a costly and time consuming legal challenge. OMB reserves the right to review all such petitions filed with Executive Branch agencies.
Interactive Public Docket
The Interactive Public Docket (IPD) is an eRulemaking tool created and managed by non-governmental organizations that seek to provide the public with the capability to 1) publicly post data and other materials pertaining to federal proceedings on a continuous basis, including after the close of the Administrative Procedure Act comment period and 2) post comments on already submitted materials.
Data Access Act
The law directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to amend OMB Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations) to require federal agencies providing grants to ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The OMB regulations state that the regulations must be issued by September 30, 1999. Relevant federal agencies must then issue their own conforming regulations consistent with the OMB rules.
02/09/2025
