Barrasso & Portman: Where are the plans to cut red tape?
President should enforce his Executive Order and publish Independent Agency Plans
by Senator John Barrasso media release
November 9, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today (Wednesday, November 9, 2011), U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Rob Portman (R-OH) called on President Obama to enforce his Executive Order 13579 asking independent agencies to publicly publish plans to improve and streamline regulations. Each independent agency was supposed to make its plans public by yesterday, November 8, 2011.
In addition to requesting the specific plans, the Senators asked for more information regarding the timeline for the independent agencies to act on the plans.
In a letter to the President, the Senators wrote "Excessive regulation has made it harder and more expensive to create jobs. Regulations have been identified as a major concern to small businesses. With our nation suffering from persistently high unemployment, we must act swiftly and responsibly to remove unnecessary, duplicative and burdensome regulations on America’s job creators, particularly small businesses."
FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER
Dear Mr. President:
On July 11, 2011, you issued an executive order addressed to independent regulatory agencies. Executive Order 13579 and the accompanying memorandum asked independent agencies to comply voluntarily with the same cost-saving and burden-reducing principles that apply to executive agencies. The order also called on each independent agency to develop and publish a retrospective review plan within 120 days. Yesterday marked the deadline for release of those plans.
We respectfully request that you provide us with the details of the plans submitted by independent agencies not yet public and any economic analysis underlying those plans. Specifically, we ask you to provide us answers to the following questions:
1. What existing significant regulations were identified by independent agencies for retrospective review?
2. What existing regulations were determined to be outmoded, ineffective, excessively burdensome, or harmful to job creation?
3. What is the timetable for action by independent agencies to eliminate or streamline those regulations, and what are the anticipated monetary savings?
4. What independent agencies, if any, have committed to abide by your request that they "follow the key cost-saving, burden-reducing principles outlined in the January Executive Order [13563]" in promulgating new regulations? (See Presidential Mem. To Independent Agencies, July 11, 2011).
Excessive regulation has made it harder and more expensive to create jobs. Regulations have been identified as a major concern to small businesses. With our nation suffering from persistently high unemployment, we must act swiftly and responsibly to remove unnecessary, duplicative and burdensome regulations on America’s job creators, particularly small businesses.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Background on the President’s Executive Order
Executive Order 13579 included the following language:
(b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, each independent regulatory agency should develop and release to the public a plan, consistent with law and reflecting its resources and regulatory priorities and processes, under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed so as to make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives.
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