The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is asking the public for ideas on ways to improve the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) – the 29-year-old law that governs federal information collection, dissemination, and management. In a notice in today’s Federal Register, the White House announces the opening of a 60 day public comment period.

On Oct. 19 the chairs for the Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITAC) sent President Obama a letter expressing opposition to the announcement that registered lobbyists should be prohibited from serving on federal advisory boards. The group asked Obama to reconsider the guidance.

Politico reports on the practice of former Members of Congress giving campaign contributions, and engaging in other perfectly legal advisory roles, and not in fact lobbying. The article focuses on two former Representatives, Bud Cramer (D-AL) and Jim McCrery (R-LA). They have both entered the private sector and plan on registering as lobbyists as soon as their cooling off period is complete, which bans them from directly lobbying former colleagues.

Tomorrow morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of David Michaels, President Obama’s pick to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Michaels nomination was not subject to a confirmation hearing, though he did meet individually with some Senators, according to E&E Daily (subscription).