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Hearing Hearing Date: March 14, 2018 10:00 am 2154 Rayburn HOB

Shining Light on the Federal Regulatory Process

Subject
Shining Light on the Federal Regulatory Process
Date
March 14, 2018
Time
10:00 am
Place
2154 Rayburn HOB
Full Committee on Oversight and Accountability
PURPOSE:
  • To assess federal agencies’ processes for and compliance with rulemaking and guidance procedure requirements.
BACKGROUND:
  • Federal agencies issue thousands of regulations per year, making it difficult for regulated entities and the general public to comply with regulatory directives.
  • Agencies are issuing a significant quantity of regulatory directives through guidance documents that are difficult to track and have few procedural standards.
  • To better understand the scope of guidance, the Committee requested information on guidance documents issued from 46 agencies. The responses show agencies routinely fail to comply with the Congressional Review Act’s (CRA) requirements and the Office of Management and Budget’s 2007 “Good Guidance” Bulletin.
  • Administrations tend to increase regulatory activity towards the end of presidential terms, by issuing regulations after the election, referred to as “midnight rulemaking.” A significant number of “midnight rules” and guidance documents are not compliant with the CRA.
Witnesses and testimonies: Ms. Kris Nguyen

Acting Director, Strategic Issues Division
Government Accountability Office

Document

Mr. Paul Noe

Vice President of Public Policy
American Forest and Paper Association

Document

Ms. Karen Harned

Executive Director, Small Business Legal Center
National Federation of Independent Business

Document

Professor Nicholas Parrillo

Professor of Law
Yale Law School

Document

Mr. Amit Narang

Regulatory Policy Advocate
Public Citizen

Document