This op-ed was originally published by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the midst of this long dark winter, it's heartening to see the Biden administration lay out a bold agenda for a more secure, fair, and sustainable future. Holding the Biden administration to its promise to reform the regulatory process to "ensure swift and effective federal action" to "improve the lives of the American people" is a crucial part of that effort. From her perch on a key congressional committee with oversight over agencies and the rulemaking process, the Delaware Valley's own Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon is well-positioned to do just that.
While not on most people's radar, the system of centralized regulatory review poses a potentially significant obstacle to President Joe Biden's ambitious agenda. Originally created by President Ronald Reagan, this process functions as the bureaucratic instantiation of the "job-killing regulations" myth that Reagan so successfully infused into the American political conversation and that politicians across the political spectrum parroted for decades afterward. The executive orders issued by both Democratic and Republican presidents to govern this process over the intervening decades reflected that false narrative—describing regulations as imposing burdens that need to be lifted and anointing economic efficiency as the singular goal of all government action.
Rather than improving regulations or making them more efficient, the regulatory review process has served instead to delay, weaken, or block them outright. It accomplishes this primarily through a hyper-formalized version of cost-benefit analysis that favors monetizable costs to industry over difficult-to-quantify benefits, such as clean air and safe drinking water, and obscures issues of distributional equity and fairness.
In one of his first executive orders, Biden wisely rejected that approach. Instead, he presented a new vision of government as a power to be "mobilized" to confront the pressing challenges of the day. Dispensing with old tropes about relieving burdens on industry, this new vision instead recognizes the indispensable role of regulations in "tackling national priorities," "promot[ing] the public interest," and "improv[ing] the lives of the American people."
To ensure agencies can realize this vision, Biden's order initiates a much-needed overhaul. It directs agencies and the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to develop recommendations for remaking the regulatory review process with the aim of "ensur[ing] swift and effective federal action."
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Amy Sinden | February 18, 2021
In the midst of this long dark winter, it's heartening to see the Biden administration lay out a bold agenda for a more secure, fair, and sustainable future. Holding the Biden administration to its promise to reform the regulatory process to "ensure swift and effective federal action" to "improve the lives of the American people" is a crucial part of that effort. From her perch on a key congressional committee with oversight over agencies and the rulemaking process, the Delaware Valley's own Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon is well-positioned to do just that.
David Flores, Katlyn Schmitt | February 16, 2021
When it comes to addressing climate-related flooding, Maryland has made progress. However, its actions to this point don't come close to addressing the impact of flooding — in part because nearly all of the state's coastal land is private and exempt from "coast smart" regulations. Without proactive rules in place to prevent the harms of new development, the state will continue to dole out taxpayer dollars related to emergency response and recovery, and business owners and homeowners will continue to bear the brunt of the damage. Thankfully, there are solutions.
David Flores, Katlyn Schmitt | February 15, 2021
As a coastal state, Maryland is especially vulnerable to climate and ocean change — but important environmental protections are woefully out of date, endangering Marylanders' health, safety, economic welfare, and natural resources. Maryland could take a step to rectify that this year. State lawmakers are advancing important legislation that would bring outdated water pollution rules up to speed and protect Marylanders and the environment.
Allison Stevens | February 12, 2021
A half century ago, hundreds of Black sanitation workers marched through Memphis carrying signs bearing four small words: "I am a man." Their short slogan carried a powerful message: Low-paid Black workers are human, and they deserve to be treated as such. Their lives, to quote today's activists for racial justice, matter.
Katie Tracy | February 9, 2021
When the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was enacted 50 years ago, it was hailed as critical legislation that would make workplaces safer and healthier for all. Thanks to this law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made great strides toward protecting worker health and safety. Unfortunately, the law didn't go far enough then -- and it doesn't go nearly far enough now.
Darya Minovi | February 8, 2021
If you’re one of roughly 2 million Marylanders whose drinking water comes from a private well, you or your property owner is responsible for maintaining the well and ensuring its water is safe -- no exceptions. That’s because federal clean water laws don’t cover private wells or small water systems, and state-level protections vary dramatically. In Maryland, those protections are few and far between.
Allison Stevens | February 5, 2021
All workers need the ability to earn paid sick days so they can take leave from their jobs to care for themselves or their loved ones when they are sick or injured. The coronavirus pandemic has made the need for this basic right -- guaranteed to workers in other wealthy nations but not here in the United States -- clearer than ever. Paid sick leave is more than a workers' rights issue. It's also a civil rights issue.
Maggie Dewane | February 4, 2021
To combat the climate crisis and air pollution that so often impacts BIPOC communities, the US must overhaul its infrastructure and energy systems.
Katlyn Schmitt | February 4, 2021
Virginia's General Assembly is more than halfway through its legislative session -- and state lawmakers are considering several important bills that would address environmental justice, pipelines, climate change, and public health. If passed, these bills will establish lasting environmental, health, and climate change protections for Virginia and its communities.