{
  "id": "RL32397",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32397",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 413159,
      "date": "2011-03-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:07:27.567433",
      "title": "Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs",
      "summary": "The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Executive Order 12291, issued by President Reagan in 1981, gave OIRA the responsibility to review the substance of agencies\u2019 regulatory actions before publication in the Federal Register. The office\u2019s regulatory review role was initially highly controversial, and it has been criticized at different times as being both too active and too passive regarding agencies\u2019 rules. Although OIRA has a number of specific statutory responsibilities (e.g., paperwork review and regulatory accounting), as a component of OMB it is part of the Executive Office of the President, and helps ensure that covered agencies\u2019 rules reflect the President\u2019s policies and priorities.\nOIRA\u2019s current regulatory review responsibilities are detailed in Executive Order 12866, which was issued by President Clinton in 1993. The office reviews significant draft rules from agencies (other than independent regulatory agencies) at both the proposed and final rulemaking stages, and also informally reviews certain rules before they are formally submitted. For rules that are \u201ceconomically significant\u201d (most commonly defined as those having a $100 million impact on the economy), OIRA also reviews the economic analyses. Since 1994, OIRA has reviewed between 500 and 700 significant proposed and final rules each year, and can clear the rules with or without changes, return the rules to the agencies for reconsideration, or encourage the agencies to withdraw them. The executive order also requires OIRA or the rulemaking agencies to disclose certain elements of the review process to the public, including the changes made at OIRA\u2019s recommendation. A September 2003 report by the General Accounting Office indicated that OIRA had a significant effect on more than a third of the 85 rules in the study, but OIRA\u2019s most common effect was to suggest changes to explanatory language in the preambles to the rules. At the start of the George W. Bush Administration, OIRA made a number of changes to its review process, including increased use of return letters, added emphasis on economic analysis to support the rules, and improvements in the transparency of the office\u2019s review process. Overall, in contrast to the \u201ccounselor\u201d role it played during the Clinton Administration, OIRA appeared to have returned to the \u201cgatekeeper\u201d role that it had during its first 12 years of existence. An April 2009 report by GAO again noted changes made to rules at OIRA\u2019s suggestion.\nPossible legislative issues involving OIRA include codification of the office\u2019s review function and principles, increasing or decreasing the office\u2019s funding and staffing, adding review of rules from independent regulatory agencies, and improvements in the transparency of OIRA\u2019s review process. In January 2009, President Obama requested recommendations from the Director of OMB for possible changes to Executive Order 12866. In January 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13563, which reaffirmed many of the principles in Executive Order 12866, but did not change OIRA\u2019s responsibilities.\nThis report will be updated if there are changes in OIRA\u2019s regulatory review responsibilities. For information, see CRS Report RL33862, Changes to the OMB Regulatory Review Process by Executive Order 13422, by Curtis W. Copeland; CRS Report RL32240, The Federal Rulemaking Process: An Overview, by Curtis W. Copeland; and CRS Report RL32356, Federal Regulatory Reform: An Overview, by Curtis W. Copeland.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32397",
          "sha1": "64f69c6fb7a9894041545e260ed7501eecb4f0cc",
          "filename": "files/20110321_RL32397_64f69c6fb7a9894041545e260ed7501eecb4f0cc.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32397",
          "sha1": "a87c7bfa21b8c5295a686d5b964c2e410bf1b25c",
          "filename": "files/20110321_RL32397_a87c7bfa21b8c5295a686d5b964c2e410bf1b25c.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 3271,
          "name": "Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809557/",
      "id": "RL32397_2010Jan26",
      "date": "2010-01-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20100126_RL32397_35b0c36aa57cdab71b92058102ac8c0fd4e210df.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20100126_RL32397_35b0c36aa57cdab71b92058102ac8c0fd4e210df.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26217/",
      "id": "RL32397_2009Jun09",
      "date": "2009-06-09",
      "retrieved": "2010-07-07T17:39:19",
      "title": "Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs",
      "summary": "This report discusses the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, which created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This report addresses OIRA's responsibilities, controversies related to OIRA, and possible legislative issues involving OIRA, including increasing or decreasing the office's funding and staffing, and improvements in the transparency of OIRA's review process.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20090609_RL32397_d1a1d3366e0b6bb3e1ea51b96c88a1e01346372d.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20090609_RL32397_d1a1d3366e0b6bb3e1ea51b96c88a1e01346372d.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Executive departments",
          "name": "Executive departments"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government information",
          "name": "Government information"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government paperwork",
          "name": "Government paperwork"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc813279/",
      "id": "RL32397_2008Jan17",
      "date": "2008-01-17",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20080117_RL32397_7c7c9b8da7fdce15653659782c39693b35a653fb.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20080117_RL32397_7c7c9b8da7fdce15653659782c39693b35a653fb.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc805137/",
      "id": "RL32397_2004May28",
      "date": "2004-05-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20040528_RL32397_ffc03a560522f17a55d550c80cb87464a1b0a107.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20040528_RL32397_ffc03a560522f17a55d550c80cb87464a1b0a107.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Science and Technology Policy"
  ]
}