OIRA — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — is an obscure, but powerful federal office around the corner from the White House. President Trump has decided that it should get even more powerful.For the last 45 years, OIRA has overseen most federal agencies by reviewing proposed regulations to make sure they agree with the President's policies and don't conflict with the work of other agencies. But one set of federal agencies has always been exempt from this review process — independent federal agencies like the SEC, FTC, FCC, and Federal Reserve. Until now.According to a new executive order, those independent agencies are about to get a lot less independent. We take a look at what this change could mean for financial markets...and the future of American democracy.This episode was produced by James Sneed and Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.Music: Universal Music Production - "Tanga," "The Jump Back," and "Kumbatia."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is OIRA and why is it important?
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So I want you to rank the following in terms of your emotional attachment to them. Chocolate, sunsets, puppies, the study of regulation.
Let's see. Puppies. Chocolate, sunset, the study of regulations.
It comes in last place. I was sure it was going to be number one.
Well, you know, I'm approaching retirement, so I'm trying to get my head in a different place.
That is Susan Dudley. Susan worked on regulation in the Reagan administration and for both Bush administrations. She's built her entire career around trying to help government agencies write better rules.
Where I spent most of my energy and my focus and my time It would definitely start with the study of regulations.
And then maybe puppies second.
And then maybe puppies.
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Chapter 2: How does regulation influence everyday life?
Oh, it was my dream job. It was very exciting, and I loved doing it.
Because, even though most Americans have never heard of OIRA, Susan understood just how central it was to the way the federal government works.
If you Google obscure but powerful government agency, OIRA probably will show up on the first page.
That's an amazing thing to Google. That's going to be my first Google after this call. Erica, you want to do the honors?
Okay. How do you spell? Government, agency, and yep, OIRA. One obscure but powerful government agency is OIRA.
Checks out. So a little history of this obscure but powerful agency. OIRA was created at the tail end of Jimmy Carter's presidency in 1980 as essentially an information clearinghouse for the executive branch. Then Ronald Reagan shows up in the White House and he supercharges it.
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.
As part of Reagan's attempt to rein in government regulation, he signed an executive order that said any new rules from federal agencies now have to be reviewed by OIRA before they go into effect.
So if the EPA or the Department of Transportation wants to put out a new regulation, they first have to send it to OIRA. And then all the policy analysts and scientists and lawyers and economists there will weigh in on whether the regulation is a good one. If OIRA doesn't like it, it's going to be pretty hard for that regulation to happen.
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