On the recordMarch 1, 2017
I appreciate the leadership of the chairman of the full committee on matters of transparency and accountability. I can tell you that there is no one who has a greater definitive desire to make sure that we hold our government accountable and certainly accountable to the American people. So, it is with that goal in mind that I rise to ask my colleagues to support an amendment that we are offering that would actually just keep a log of any of the pre-review consultations with agencies that OIRA actually has and conducts, and to publish that list upon completion of review. Dating back to some 2003, the Government Accountability Office had made the recommendation about increasing this transparency at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. GAO actually made one recommendation targeted at what they call informal review, Mr. Chairman, that OIRA conducts before an agency actually formally submits a rule for review. Indeed, the GAO recommended that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget should define a transparency requirement that would be applicable to agencies and OIRA, in Section 6 of Executive Order 12866, in such a way that would not include not only the formal review, but it would also include the informal review period when OIRA says that it has sometimes, considering some of the most important facts as it relates to new rules. This recommendation remains unimplemented today, and I can tell you, Mr.…
