OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass is expected to testify today at a hearing on federal rulemaking and the regulatory process before the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. The hearing is scheduled for July 27 at 11:00 a.m. Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is also expected to testify, as well as Sally Katzen of Podesta Group, Richard Williams of George Mason University’s Regulatory Studies Program and Government Accountability Project, and Curtis Copeland, of the Congressional Research Service.

In prepared testimony (PDF), Bass urges President Obama to reform the regulatory process and establish its vision for the role of regulation.

In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Bass spoke out against the latest attacks by business lobbyists and members of Congress on food safety protections, workplace safety standards, financial reform and coal ash regulation. Bass argues that strong public protections are needed now, more than ever, in light of recent disasters like the BP oil spill and the West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 workers in April.