Susan Dudley
Appearances
Planet Money
OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
People are very familiar with how a bill becomes a law from the Schoolhouse Rock video. They're less familiar with how regulations are made. And it's the regulatory agencies through administrative law that actually make that law that we feel in our day-to-day lives.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Well, this probably sounds Pollyannish, but I think it means that the independent regulatory agencies will do a more thorough analysis and their regulations will be better and We will increase social welfare, which is what OIRA's mission is.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
I really care about durability and putting in place practices that will last. So I probably would have been happier if President Biden had issued this executive order instead. Because I worry that anything that this president does by executive order, the next president can undo by executive order. And the instinct may be, let's just get rid of everything that he did.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
For example, the Department of Homeland Security. might have a regulation to ensure that cargo being shipped to the United States hasn't been tampered with by terrorists and doesn't present a threat to homeland security.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Let's see. Puppies. Chocolate, sunset, the study of regulations.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
If you delay these shipments overseas, that causes real problems elsewhere. So the State Department might be very interested in that. The Small Business Administration might be concerned about The impact on small businesses, the Commerce Department might be concerned.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
And it's in part to make sure, it's probably a couple things. One is to make sure that one part of the government knows what the other part is doing, to try to minimize the conflict and duplication. But another is that the elected president who's accountable to the people has some control over the bureaucracy of the government.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Well, you know, I'm approaching retirement, so I'm trying to get my head in a different place.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Oh, it was my dream job. It was very exciting, and I loved doing it.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
If you Google obscure but powerful government agency, OIRA probably will show up on the first page.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
President Carter had an executive order that required agencies to analyze their regulations before issuing them. And Reagan took it another step and said, and we're going to check your work.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
I joke that OIRA has to kind of wear the black hat and be the one to say, well, let's look at how this works. But it does mean that you're nobody's favorite person.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Where I spent most of my energy and my focus and my time It would definitely start with the study of regulations.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
I felt like Judge Judy sitting at a table with different agencies with very different views and trying to, mediate and moderate between those different agencies.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
I'm a much more mellow person. So no, I didn't quite emulate Judge Judy.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
And this is a little bit in the weeds.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Actually, not just metaphorically, because in this particular case, EPA wanted to set a separate form of the standard. to protect a certain crop. So that's why I say it's kind of in the weeds.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
And then maybe puppies.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
And so... EPA, in its final rule, stated, we are doing this at the behest of the president. We are setting the standard this way at the behest of the president.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
You know, when I tell people that I study regulation, often their eyes will glaze over and they'll try to find someone else to talk to. But increasingly, people are realizing that's where the action is. That's where public policy gets made. It's where the rubber hits the road.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
As you know, I'm a big OIRA fangirl, and I think OIRA provides a valuable function in coordinating across agencies, ensuring that agencies are doing quality analysis.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
Every agency would like to be exempt from OIRA review because, you know, it does add it adds time. It adds a layer. And they think they've done their homework just fine. And we don't need anybody grading us on this homework or reviewing our homework.
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OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
I think it's fair to say that former OIR administrators from both sides of the aisle support having independent agencies be covered under the executive order.