Formed 1980 Website Official Website | Headquarters Washington, D.C. | |
Preceding agency Office of Regulatory and Information Policy Parent agency | ||
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA /oʊˈaɪərə/ oh-EYE-rə) is a United States Government office established in 1980 within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an agency in the Executive Office of the President. The OIRA oversees the implementation of government-wide policies and reviews draft regulations.
Contents
Tasks
OIRA reviews requests it receives from federal agencies to collect information from the public. It develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information technology, information policy, privacy, and statistical policy. OIRA reviews draft regulations under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. Executive Order 12866 describes OIRA's role in the rulemaking process. In it, the President directs agencies, to follow certain principles in rulemaking, such as consideration of alternatives and analysis of impacts, both benefits and costs. As the Executive Order directs, OIRA reviews agency draft regulations before publication to ensure agency compliance with this Executive Order.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Congress passed the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (PL 96-511) and its successor, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 that established OIRA in the Office of Management and Budget, an agency within the Executive Office of the President. A predecessor office had existed at OMB for many years, and was briefly at the Department of Commerce from 1977 to 1981.
Cost/benefit analysis -- Executive Order 12866 and its predecessors
The executive order under which the Office operates—EO 12,866—states OIRA should focus on "economically significant" rules. Of the 500 to 700 rules reviewed by OIRA annually about 100 have been classified as "economically significant". Issuing Presidential regulatory principles and the centralized review of draft regulations, have been part of regulatory development for 30 years in one form or another. It began with President Richard Nixon's "Quality of Life" program, and continued in the 1970s with President Gerald Ford's requirement in Executive Order 11821 and 11949 for agencies to prepare inflation/economic impact statements. It continued with President Jimmy Carter's Executive Order 12044 on "Improving Government Regulations."
The OMB review process became more formalized in 1981 with President Ronald Reagan's Executive Order 12291, which was in effect from 1981 to September 1993, the Reagan and George H. W. Bush Administrations and the first nine months of the Clinton administration. During the Reagan administration, the White House had reviewed 2,000 to 3,000 regulations per year. In September 1993, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 12866 and the total dropped to between 500 and 700 annually. In January 2011, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13563 to improve regulation and regulatory review.
Executive Order 13422, signed by President George W. Bush in January 2007, changed the rules as of July 24, 2007 The Executive Order covers federal agencies' "guidance documents", in addition to regulations. The Order's stated purpose was to ensure that agencies comply with the regulatory principles stated in Executive Order 12866 and that the President's policies are reflected in agency rules. It also specified procedures for the resolution of conflicts between or among agencies. In July 2007, controversy arose in the U.S. Congress over this order giving the OIRA additional powers. The House of Representatives voted to prohibit OIRA from spending federal money on Executive Order 13422.
OIRA guides and coordinates agencies with respect to Circular A4, Information Quality Guidelines, and the Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices.
Organization
The office has five branches:
- Food, Health, and Labor Branch
- Information Policy Branch
- Natural Resources and Environment Branch
- Statistical & Science Policy Branch
- Transportation and Security Branch
From 2001 to March 2006, OIRA was headed by John D. Graham, who departed to accept the deanship of the Pardee RAND Graduate School. The OIRA Administrator from September 2009 to August 21, 2012 was Cass Sunstein, who was succeeded by Acting Director Boris Bershteyn. In April 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Howard A. Shelanski who started in June 2013 and served until the end of the Administration in January 2017. The Trump Administration has not yet nominated a new office chief.
Criticism
A 2011 report from the Center on Progressive Reform stated that in 10 years, OIRA altered 84 percent of EPA rule submissions. The EPA's new rules on ozone pollution developed since September 2009, rolled out as tougher draft standards in January 2010, were repeatedly delayed.