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Policy Integrity submitted comments to ACUS (Administrative Conference of the United States) regarding various proposed recommendations to be considered at its 56th Plenary Session. As an independent federal agency that works to improve federal agency procedures, ACUS held its biannual assembly to discuss and vote on recommendations around issues such as regulatory analysis requirements, midnight rules, and coordination of multi-agency responsibilities.

Today we submitted comments in response to OIRA’s annual report to Congress. Among the several specific suggestions is that the employment impacts of regulations be integrated into cost-benefit analysis in a balanced, transparent way. We recommend that OIRA should be careful to avoid any language that reinforces the mistaken belief that regulations inevitably lead to unemployment and that any analysis should do its best to model net employment impact, not just one region or sector.

Today, Policy Integrity submitted public comments to the Administrative Conference of the United States regarding their Committee on Regulation’s proposed recommendations for review of regulatory analysis requirements.

Boiler MACT regulations will take harmful soot out of the air as well as mercury and other heavy metals. It will have a significant positive effect on respiratory and cardiovascular health. But EPA is currently reconsidering some of the rule it deems shaky.

Recently, women’s health has been a topic of national news. It’s also made headlines in Virginia where the state government has taken steps that could effectively shutter many women’s health clinics.

Cars that hit the streets in 2017 through 2025 will run on far less fuel than they do now. Last summer, the Obama Administration announced a deal with automakers aiming to up the average to 56 miles per gallon and EPA-DOT proposed a new rule that would hold them to that standard.

Policy Integrity submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging updates to its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) program standards for nitrogen oxide (NOx ) and nitric acid plants, which can emit dangerous air pollutants that can cause illness and alter the climate. Though a statute requires the EPA to review and revise related regulations every eight years, the rules governing these plants have not been updated in four decades.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced its final policy on incorporating full fuel cycle analysis. This form of analysis expands on the current way of estimating the energy savings of appliances by including the costs of everything from fuel extraction to distribution and also estimating the greenhouse gas impacts of the machine.

The EPA released proposed regulations earlier this year in May to curb hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, from electric utility steam generating units (EGUs). Policy Integrity submitted comments today to the EPA on improving the efficiency of these rules, known as Utility MACT and Utility NSPS. They are both expected to be finalized later this year.

In January, President Obama issued a call for all federal agencies to review their existing regulations, looking for rules that had grown outdated, ineffective, or insufficient over time. Back then, there was much discussion over whether the move was a gift to business or a robust defense of strong protections even in a downturned economy.