When Barack Obama took the oath of office in January 2009, the country faced problems unlike any the country had faced in generations. The economic system was near collapse. Each year, food-borne illnesses sickened millions, workplace hazards killed and injured thousands on the job, and air pollution triggered asthma attacks in millions of children and adults. Long procedural delays and political interference in the regulatory process caused deficits in safety and health standards, exacerbating these problems. This report examines efforts to address such delays and interference by focusing on the regulatory process, including transparency and participation, regulatory analysis, scientific integrity, and the role of the White House, especially the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in shaping the administration's record. This is the third of three OMB Watch reports evaluating the Obama administration’s record on regulatory issues.
As the 112th Congress convenes, a renewed battle over the role of government in protecting the public is being waged. The battle reflects the decades-old myth that regulations are "job-killers" and that government must either sacrifice jobs to provide public safety or sacrifice lives, health, and environmental quality to protect jobs.
Federal agencies have released their rulemaking agendas for 2011, providing the public with a roadmap of the health, safety, and environmental safeguards it can anticipate in the new year.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2011—Today, OMB Watch released the third and final report in a series on public protections and the Obama administration. The new report, The Obama Approach to Public Protection: The Regulatory Process, finds that although the Obama administration's overall regulatory philosophy is strikingly different from that of the previous administration, promised changes to the federal regulatory process have stalled out.