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The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is a small federal agency responsible for reviewing regulations and proposals from several different federal agencies. According to the White House, the official function of the OIRA is to review “all collections of information by the Federal Government. OIRA also develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in several areas, including information quality and statistical standards. In addition, OIRA reviews draft regulations.” Simply put, this is the most powerful organization in Washington you’ve never heard of.
President Obama is now under pressure to appoint a new administrator at the OIRA. The position of OIRA administrator has been unfilled since August, when Cass Sunstein stepped down after serving for three years. A lawyer named Boris Bershteyn has been serving as Acting Administrator in the interim, but there is a time limit on how long the position can remain vacant. Bershteyn is approaching his limit of 210 days as acting Administrator, and Obama must soon appoint someone to the position permanently. The appointment also needs to be approved by the Senate. Because Bershteyn’s 210 days will be up sometime next week and no successor has been named, the White House may simply remove his “Acting Administrator” title. This is perfectly legal, and has been done recently with Jeffrey Zients, who is now the “Leader” of the Office of Management and Budget. Bershteyn can also remain in his Acting Administrator role if someone is simply nominated to the position because he or she will need to win Senate approval.
The new Administrator of OIRA will have powerful influence on any proposed energy and environmental policies, in addition to proposals or new regulations in any other sector. The OIRA has already exercised plenty of revisions to Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency proposals involving issues such as coal mining, fracking, energy exports and renewable energy sources. The Administration’s proposed new regulations involving air quality, emissions controls on power plants, and regulations addressing climate change increase pressure on Obama to choose a new administrator as these issues need to be addressed quickly.
A government agency as important as the OIRA needs a dedicated, permanent administrator, however. It is in the interest of businesses and the US economy that the appointed Administrator be someone with a well- rounded background who will promote economic priorities along with the Obama Administration’s climate change priorities. The key to an effective OIRA will be balance. We cannot afford to ignore the needs of the rebounding US economy by enacting restricting regulations on businesses, but neither can we afford to allow unabated pollution of our air, water and land.
Businesses, lobbyists, and environmental groups alike should all be paying astute attention to the nomination process of OIRA’s next Administrator. Whether the regulation approval process set up under OIRA is a positive or negative influence is debatable. Either way, the process is not going to change anytime soon, so we need a strong and well-rounded individual at the helm of this unfamiliar but mighty government agency.
