Regulatory Transactions

From: Associated Press

By JOAN LOWY

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The White House declined to comment, but the proposal has been dropped from the White House Office of Management and Budget’s list of regulations actively under consideration and instead has been relegated to its long-term agenda.

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Administration officials indicated their decision was based on several factors, including general wariness of imposing costly mandates on industry, even though most automakers support requiring V2V, industry officials said. President Donald Trump has made reducing government regulations, which he sees as a drain on the economy, a guiding principle of his administration.

From: The Hill

BY LYDIA WHEELER

A Labor Department proposal to kill an Obama-era rule preventing employers from pooling workers’ tips is now under White House review.

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the proposed rule from the Labor Department on Tuesday according to the list of regulations under review.

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From: Science

By Warren Cornwall

For years, scientists and universities have complained about the patchwork of U.S. regulations governing the welfare of animals used in research. Studies involving rabbits and larger mammals, for example, are overseen chiefly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Federally funded studies of rats, mice, and birds are subject to different rules and a different overseer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Many privately funded animal studies, meanwhile, get relatively little federal oversight. “It’s a crazy quilt,” says Ross McKinney, chief science officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in Washington, D.C.

From: Area Development

With the realization that major infrastructure projects are critical to economic development, the federal government is attempting to streamline the environmental permitting process.

Tom Ewing, Staff Editor, Area Development

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In August, the President moved directly on streamlining, issuing Executive Order (EO) 13807 — “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects.” The focus is on major infrastructure, i.e., projects reviewed by multiple agencies, requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

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From: FierceHealthcare

by Evan Sweeney

The Office of Management and Budget is reviewing a proposed one-year delay for updates to the Common Rule that have been in limbo since the Trump administration took office.

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OMB indicated it is reviewing a proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services that would delay implementation for one year “while allowing the use of three burden-reducing provisions during the delay year.” The review was first reported by Politico.

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From: Bloomberg

By Jennifer A Dlouhy

• EPA is poised to argue Clean Power Plan exceeds legal limits
• Public will be invited to offer ideas for replacement rule

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For instance, the Coalition for Innovative Climate Solutions, which represents electric generating companies, has asked administration officials for a replacement rule that would provide “regulatory certainty” and “accommodate the broad diversity in state” energy portfolios.

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has been vetting the EPA’s repeal proposal since June.

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From: Reuters (Exclusive)

Mike Stone, Matt Spetalnick

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The officials from multiple agencies, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the new rules will cut government red tape and regulatory costs, boosting U.S. exports of small arms and creating jobs at home.

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The administration has all but finalized a draft of the new rules, which could be sent to the White House budget office for review within days, one U.S. official said.

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Editor’s Note: The CFPB is fully subject to the Data Quality Act. See here and here for examples.

From: Reuters

Lisa Lambert

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From: Nature

Brain researchers in uproar over NIH clinical-trials policy

Sara Reardon

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An open letter posted to an online petition site on 31 August and addressed to NIH director Francis Collins on says that the policy could “unnecessarily increase the administrative burden on investigators”, slowing the pace of discovery in basic research. It asked the NIH to delay implementation of the policy until it has consulted with the behavioural-science and neuroscience communities. The letter has so far garnered more than 2,700 signatures.

From: HME News

by: Liz Beaulieu

WASHINGTON – The website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Management and Budget now shows an interim final rule pending review titled “Durable Medical Equipment Fee Schedule, Adjustments to Resume the Transitional 50/50 Blended Rates to Provider Relief in Non-Competitive Bidding Areas.”

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“If you just look at the title, it sounds like a good thing, but we just don’t know what’s in it,” said John Gallagher, vice president of government relations for VGM & Associates. “We’re waiting on hands and knees.”