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Ben Somberg | November 19, 2010

Coal Ash Comments Submitted: Get Serious, Please

“In order for CBA cost benefit analysis to be workable, regulators need to have a relatively restricted range of possibilities.” That’s what OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein wrote in a 2007 book. So how about from $82 billion to negative $251 billion, a third of a trillion dollars – is that a relatively restricted range? Those […]

Ben Somberg | November 19, 2010

Jacob Lew Confirmed as Director of OMB

Senator Mary Landrieu released her hold on the nomination of Jacob Lew for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Senate confirmed Lew by voice vote Thursday evening. Back when Lew had his confirmation hearings, CPR President Rena Steinzor wrote here about the challenges Lew will face on the regulatory front (“OMB […]

Rena Steinzor | November 17, 2010

War on Regulation Coming to the States? Why IPI’s Plan For Centralized Regulatory Review Isn’t What We Need

One of the most powerful sleights of hand achieved by Republicans during the last election cycle was their renewed declaration of war on regulation. It’s no secret which of their interest groups are most passionate about this aspect of their agenda. Tuesday’s LATimes previewed a plan by the Chamber of Commerce, to be announced today, to further […]

James Goodwin | November 11, 2010

The Goose, the Gander, and an OIRA Checklist

Late last month, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) posted on its website a document called Agency Checklist: Regulatory Impact Analysis, which, according to the document, is intended to assist federal regulatory agencies with Executive Order 12866-required cost-benefit analyses (CBAs). Such analyses have become a standard, if fatally flawed, stage in the […]

Rena Steinzor | November 4, 2010

Obama’s Path Forward: Impart a Sense of Urgency to Regulatory Agencies Protecting Health, Safety and the Environment

There’s a lot of punditry left to be committed about whether and how the GOP majority in the House and the enhanced GOP minority in the Senate will work with the Obama Administration. I’m not optimistic. But even if the President and House Republicans are able to find some small patch of common ground, the […]

Ben Somberg | November 3, 2010

DC Event — Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental Law and the Search for Objectivity

Tomorrow, Thursday, the American Constitution Society will host a midday panel discussion about the issues and ideas presented in Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental Law and the Search for Objectivity, by CPR Member Scholar Douglas A. Kysar. The panel includes CPR Board Member Amy Sinden. Drawing insight from a diverse array of sources, including moral philosophy, […]

Rena Steinzor | October 13, 2010

The Oil Spill Commission, the White House, and the Next Election

Whatever happens at the polls this November, President Obama will get a chance to turn the electoral tide in 2012, perhaps without the loadstone of recession around his political neck.  And, while the economy and many other issues will continue to occupy the President for the best and most obvious of reasons, it’s fair for everyone […]

James Goodwin | October 8, 2010

CRE’s Proposed Interactive Public Dockets—Tilting the Regulatory Process Further in Industry’s Favor

Back in the 1970s, when many of the great environmental, health, and safety statutes were adopted, public interest groups shared an overwhelming optimism that greater public participation held the key to maintaining—and even expanding upon—their successes. All they needed was a seat at the  table where decisions are made, and their ideas would ultimately prevail. At first, […]

Lena Pons | September 29, 2010

Sen. Landrieu’s Counterproductive Hold on the Lew Nomination

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) currently has a hold on Jacob Lew’s confirmation to become the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, and says she won't release it until the Obama Administration ends the moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling. She said that while Lew “clearly possesses the expertise necessary to serve…he […]