Today, 18 CPR Member Scholars and staff sent a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren expressing their support for her recently introduced bill, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, in particular its provisions to reform the regulatory system so that it works for all Americans. These provisions are just one component of the bill’s comprehensive effort aimed at restoring the principles of government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” to our policymaking institutions by ridding them of excessive corporate influence and by eliminating unnecessary barriers that defeat meaningful public participation in our governing processes.
As CPR has documented for more than 15 years, our regulatory system has become grossly unbalanced, with its procedures and outcomes increasingly tilted to favor the protection of corporate profits at the expense of public health, safety, financial security, and environmental integrity. The Regulatory Reform Title of Warren’s bill would institute vital changes to the regulatory system aimed at correcting these imbalances.
As the letter explains, several of the bill’s provisions would be effective in addressing the problem of corporate dominance of the rulemaking process. For example, Sections 303 and 306 would seek to end industry’s use of the centralized review process at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) as a conduit for secretly watering down or blocking rules it finds too inconvenient. Among other things, these provisions would make this process more transparent and end OIRA’s practice of presiding over “lobbying” meetings while conducting reviews.
But, as the bill rightly notes, ending the scourge of corporate dominance is not sufficient to rebuilding the regulatory system. Rather, it is also necessary that we ensure that ordinary Americans are able to contribute and participate meaningfully in regulatory development and implementation, as their lived experience with the threats that regulations are meant to avert will enhance the quality and effectiveness of regulatory design and decision-making.
Accordingly, the CPR letter highlights several of the provisions in the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act that would promote public participation. These include Section 309 of the bill, which would create an innovative new agency called the Office of Public Advocacy that would be charged with assisting individuals who want to participate in the rulemaking process. And Section 310 would broaden the use of “private attorneys general” to all public interest laws, empowering ordinary Americans to contribute to their effective enforcement.
While these reforms are important in their own right, what makes Warren’s bill especially valuable at this juncture in American history is the broader message it sends – namely, that good government plays an essential role in our society, and our system of regulatory safeguards is a legitimate and necessary part of this role. Going forward, the bill holds the promise of not only strengthening our regulatory system but also of changing for the better how Americans think of their relationship with their government.
Showing 2,825 results
James Goodwin | September 6, 2018
Today, 18 CPR Member Scholars and staff sent a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren expressing their support for her recently introduced bill, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, in particular its provisions to reform the regulatory system so that it works for all Americans. These provisions are just one component of the bill’s comprehensive effort […]
Alice Kaswan | September 6, 2018
This post is part of CPR's From Surviving to Thriving: Equity in Disaster Planning and Recovery report. Click here to read previously posted chapters. By the end of the 2017 hurricane season, the American people were reeling from the impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The press documented the familiar cycle of compassion, frustration, and anger. […]
Sidney A. Shapiro | September 5, 2018
This is the first in a series of posts from CPR's new From Surviving to Thriving: Equity in Disaster Planning and Recovery report and provides a preview of the preface and executive summary. From September 6-26, CPR will post a new chapter from the report each weekday on CPRBlog. The full report, including a downloadable PDF, will […]
Matt Shudtz | September 4, 2018
Today, D.C. Circuit Court Judge and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh begins his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Despite the disturbing lack of transparency around his service to the country during the George W. Bush administration, the show will go on. We asked CPR's Member Scholars and staff what they would ask Judge […]
Rena Steinzor | August 30, 2018
This op-ed originally ran in The Hill. Tens of thousands of thoughtful — and not so thoughtful — words have been written about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s substantive positions on issues the court will face. At least one question has not been addressed, however: Is Judge Brett Kavanaugh so ideological about certain topics that […]
Joel A. Mintz | August 30, 2018
This story was originally published by The Revelator. In his first 19 months in office, Donald Trump has repeatedly defied established presidential norms — so flagrantly that it almost obscures the many ways he's changed national policies for the worse. But despite all the scandals and mean-spirited tweets, it's likely that his most enduring impact […]
Alice Kaswan | August 29, 2018
For disadvantaged communities, the so-called Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE) falls far short of the protections and opportunities included in the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration rule that the Trump EPA is now attempting to repeal and replace. One of the Clean Power Plan's (CPP) essential features was its recognition that the electricity sector […]
Daniel Farber | August 28, 2018
Cross-posted from LegalPlanet. You've already heard a lot about Trump's pro-coal ACE rule. You're likely to keep hearing about it, off and on, throughout the next couple of years, and maybe longer. I've set out a rough timetable below, and at the end I discuss some implications. Step 1: The Rulemaking Aug. 2018 Notice of […]
Elena Franco | August 27, 2018
This post is part of a series about climate change and the increasing risk of floods releasing toxic chemicals from industrial facilities. It is based on a forthcoming article that will be published in the Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief. As climate change makes extreme weather events increasingly frequent, the risk of flooding on our rivers […]