The Trump Administration released its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Agenda, which was prepared by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, identifies regulations proposed to be promulgated or revised by federal agencies in the short- and long-term. Regulations proposed for revision include: the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon dioxide emissions standards for new fossil fuel… read more

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued final guidance on the implementation of Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.

Thirty-six house democrats introduced a bill to overturn President Trump’s “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” order. The “Congressional Leadership in Mitigating Administration Threats to the Earth (CLIMATE) Act” (H.R. 1812) declares the president’s document null and void and would prohibit federal funds for implementing, administering or enforcing it. Democratic senators have also introduced companion legislation.

President Trump issued an executive order aimed at dismantling many of the key actions undertaken at the federal level to address climate change. The order directs EPA to review and potentially rescind or re-write important regulations such as the Clean Power Plan (CO2 emission standards for existing power plants), CO2 emission standards for new power plants, and methane emission standards for the oil and gas sector. It also revokes a number of executive orders and actions, including: guidance on calculating the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions, an imposing a moratorium on federal coal leasing, and guidance on how to account for climate change in environmental reviews.

President Trump released a budget proposal that would eliminate funding for many climate change-related programs, including the Clean Power Plan, the UNFCCC and international climate funds, the Energy Star program, clean energy research, and NASA earth science research.

The House voted to pass H.R. 998, the “Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act.” The Act calls for the establishment of a commission that would review and propose regulations for repeal based on considerations pertaining to the utility and economic impacts of the regulation. It also directs agencies to ensure that the costs of new rules are offset by the repeal of old rules.

President Trump signed a new executive order aimed at implementing and enforcing the President’s deregulatory agenda. It calls for the establishment of Regulatory Reform Task Forces to identify regulations for repeal, replacement, or modification, as well as Regulatory Reform Officers to oversee the deregulation process.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued Interim Guidance Implementing Section 2 of the Executive Order of January 30, 2017, Titled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.”

President Trump signed an executive order instructing agencies to identify two regulations to repeal for every new regulation and to ensure that the total incremental cost of all new regulations is no greater than zero.