The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA ) is a Division within the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB), which in turn, is within the Executive Office of the President. OIRA oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in, and reviews draft regulations under, Executive Order 12866, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the Information Quality Act.

Tasks

OIRA reviews draft rules that it receives from federal agencies under the three laws noted in the preamble to this article, and develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information technology, information policy, privacy, and statistical policy. As one step in the entire rulemaking process (as explained in more detail in United States administrative law), OIRA reviews draft rules and regulations under 12866 from 1993. Executive Order 12866 describes OIRA's role in the rulemaking process and directs agencies, to follow certain principles, such as consideration of alternatives and analysis of impacts, both benefits and costs. OIRA reviews draft regulations to ensure agency compliance with this executive order.

History and jurisdiction

Cost/benefit analysis—Executive Order 12866 and its predecessors

Presidential regulatory principles and the centralized review of draft regulations had been part of U.S. regulatory development for decades. President Nixon's "

Quality of Life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

" program involved such review, and President Ford's in 1974 required agencies to prepare

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

/economic impact statements. A predecessor office had existed at

, OMB, an agency within the Executive Office of the President for many years; from 1977 to 1981, it was briefly at the Department of Commerce. It continued with President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

's on "Improving Government Regulations." Today, about 20% of all regulation
flow through
OIRA for cost-benefit regulatory review under Executive Order 12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act, 1981

The

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

passed the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 () and its successor, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (), that established OIRA in the OMB. The OMB review process became more formalized in 1981 with President Ronald Reagan's . During his administration, the White House had reviewed 2,000 to 3,000 regulations per year. It continued during the George H. W. Bush Administration and the first nine months of the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...

. In September 1993, President Bill Clinton issued , and the total dropped to between 500 and 700 annually.Curtis W. Copeland. 2009
Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Congressional Research Service. The executive order 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". In 1995, the Paperwork Reduction Act was updated. In January 2007, President George W. Bush signed , which changed the rules as of July 24, 2007. The Executive Order covers federal agencies' "guidance documents", in addition to regulations. Its 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. In January 2011, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

issued Executive Order 13563 to improve regulation and regulatory review. 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

Administrators

James C. Miller III James Clifford Miller III (born June 25, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American economist and former government official who served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) between 1981 and 1985 and as Budget Director for President ...

, January 1981 to September 1981 * Christopher C. DeMuth, October 1981 to May 1984 * Douglas H. Ginsburg, 1984 to 1985 * Wendy Lee Gramm, October 1985 to February 1988 * S. Jay Plager, 1988 to 1989 * Jim MacRae (acting), 1989 to 1993 * Sally Katzen, 1993–1998 * Don Arbuckle (acting), March 1997 to June 1999 * John T. Spotila, July 1999 to December 2000 * Don Arbuckle (acting), January 2001 to July 2001 * John Graham, 2001 – March 2006 – departed to accept the deanship of the Pardee RAND Graduate School * Steve Aiken (acting), April 2006 to March 2007 *

Susan Dudley Susan Elaine Dudley (born May 27, 1955) is an American academic who served as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget in the administration of George W. Bush. As such, Dudley was th ...

, April 4, 2007 – January 20, 2009. * Kevin Neyland (Acting), January 20, 2009 - September 2009 *

Cass Sunstein Cass Robert Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, law and behavioral economics. He is also ''The New York Times'' best-selling author ...

, September 2009 – August 21, 2012 *

Boris Bershteyn Boris Bershteyn (born 1977) is an Obama administration official who until June 2013 had served as acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He previously served from 2011 to 2012 as general counsel for the federa ...

(acting) August 21, 2012 - June 27, 2013 *

Howard Shelanski Howard Shelanski (born 1964) is an American attorney, economist, and legal scholar. He is a professor of law at Georgetown University and a partner in the law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell. He served in the Obama administration as administrator ...

, June 27, 2013 – January 20, 2017 * Dominic Mancini (acting), January 20, 2017 – July 18, 2017 *

Neomi Rao Neomi Jehangir Rao (born March 22, 1973) is an American jurist and legal scholar who serves as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, ha ...

, nominated April 7, 2017, served July 18, 2017 – March 18, 2019 * Dominic Mancini (acting), March 2019 * Paul J. Ray (acting), March 2019 – January 10, 2020, (confirmed) January 10, 2020 - January 20, 2021 * Dominic Mancini (acting) January 20, 2021 – April 22, 2021 * Sharon Block (acting) April 22, 2021 - February 1, 2022 * Dominic Mancini (acting) February 1, 2022 - Present *

Richard Revesz Richard L. Revesz (born May 9, 1958) is an American lawyer and academic. He is the director of the American Law Institute and the Lawrence King Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law. He served as the Dean of the New York Univers ...

(nominated September 2022)

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.

References

External links

*
Regulatory Information Service Center
in the Federal Register
RegInfo: Where to find Federal Regulatory Information
thecre.com
History OMB Regulatory ReviewThe White House Transitions Project’s Insider’s Guide to OMBThe Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the durability of regulatory oversight in the United States
By Susan E. Dudley for Regulation & Governance, 20 July, 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Office Of Information And Regulatory Affairs Government agencies established in 1980 Information and Regulatory Affairs