Open Government Advocates Push for Rulemaking Reform (dump * procedures)

[babylonsister]

Open Government Advocates Push for Rulemaking Reform
By Rebecca Adams, CQ Staff


When President-elect Obama comes into office, he’ll have to decide what to do not only about specific Bush administration rules he opposes, but also how to structure the rulemaking process itself — which can be important in determining the outcome for policies.

Open government advocates are pushing the Obama transition to dump some of Bush’s procedures that they say stalled or killed important rules.

They have lobbied different teams for the transition in recent meetings and are planning more conversations in the next couple of weeks. The coalition is also trying to gin up support for its suggestions with Capitol Hill briefings for members and aides tentatively set for January.

On Obama’s first day, the new president should get rid of one executive order on rulemaking in particular, says a coalition of 17 experts convened by OMB Watch director Gary Bass.

That executive order, put in place last year at the suggestion of Susan Dudley, director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, shifted some power over rulemaking from career agency officials and gave it to political aides appointed by the president. It also forced agencies to get approval for more types of policies from OIRA, which is overseen by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The White House has interfered too much in creating rules for political reasons instead of letting agency experts handle the details, charges Bass’ group, which is made up of experts with mostly liberal to centrist views.

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