OIRA 2.0: How Regulatory Review Can Help Respond to Existential Threats

OIRA 2.0: How Regulatory Review Can Help Respond to Existential Threats proposes reforming the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ (OIRA) structure and regulatory review process so that it can better support a progressive, equitable, and sustainable agenda.

The United States faces several growing challenges: climate change, widening economic inequality, and now the COVID-19 crisis. Too often, however, institutional roadblocks prevent the federal government from adequately addressing these issues. In a new paper, Todd N. Tucker and Rajesh D. Nayak argue that to confront these challenges, the next administration should overhaul the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Changing OIRA’s structure and its regulatory review process are an essential step towards long-term, structural change. Proposed changes include: enhancing the office’s capacity, promoting sustainability in cost-benefit analyses, and building equity and inclusion considerations more firmly into formal review.