Obama sets new tone for regulatory process

The direction of federal regulations has changed substantially during the Obama administration, according to Neil Kerwin, an authority on public policy.

Kerwin, president of American University and founder of AU's Center for the Study of Rulemaking, told Government Executive that change is expected with a new administration, but Obama has significantly shifted the focus of rule-making. Much of the emphasis is on what government observers call "social regulation" -- centered on the environment, labor, food safety, workplace safety and similar issues.

Since the Reagan administration, rule-making has become an important part of how presidents assert their authority, Kerwin noted. By revising the process for reviewing proposed and final rules, Reagan "imposed one of the most dramatic changes in presidential power over policy."

"Most recent presidents have understood the power of regulatory process as a vehicle to pursue one's agenda," Kerwin said. "Each president has learned quickly that the regulatory process, at least those [parts of it] that operate under his direct managerial control, are more responsive to his directives, than the Hill will be."

According to Kerwin, the process is largely transparent and participatory under Obama, as it has been during recent administrations. The downside to high participation, he added, is that it can slow the process by requiring rule-making agencies to extend comment periods, revise regulations based on stakeholder input, or take other intermediate actions.

"Responsive constituencies that favor and oppose new regulations have enormous opportunities to participate in the process," he said. "Part of the issue you're seeing with regard to a slow process has to do with the extent to which people have access to regulatory process."

The Obama administration added a layer of participation to the regulatory process. Every new president at the beginning of a term issues an executive order outlining how the administration will review proposed rules and the criteria for judging them. But Obama is the first president to solicit feedback from the public on how the administration should approach rule-making, Kerwin said.

The White House has received more than 200 comments on the rule-making process, effectively operating under the Clinton administration's executive order in the meantime, according to Kerwin.

"Clinton's order is a sophisticated document," he said, noting the Obama administration saw no need to produce its own. "It touches on the procedural aspects and many substantives ones. The Obama administration may conclude it's adequate."