Obama's Regulation Czar Under Fire
Many conservatives who supported the appointment of Cass Sunstein to lead OIRA -- the agency which conducts cost-benefit analysis on federal regulations -- are now worried that he will not be able to stem the administration's excessive government regulations.
The New York Times Magazine had a fascinating profile of law professor and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) administrator Cass Sunstein this weekend. But the profile focused on meta-themes, and failed to ask an important question: how has Sunstein been performing as OIRA chief?
Back in the fall of 2009, Sunstein faced an uphill confirmation battle, no doubt hampered further when Glenn Beck called Sunstein “the most dangerous guy out there right now.” Sunstein had been appointed to lead OIRA, the office which conducts cost-benefit analysis on federal regulations. FrumForum strongly supported Sunstein, arguing that his appointment to OIRA could stem the Obama administration’s more onerous regulations.
Nine months later, Sunstein appears to have disappointed. Another New York Times piece, titled “With Obama, Regulations Are Back in Fashion”, notes that the Obama administration has engaged in a “burst of rule-making…press[ing] forward on hundreds of new mandates, while also stepping up enforcement of rules by increasing the ranks of inspectors and imposing higher fines for violations.”
During Sunstein’s tenure at OIRA, which analyzes and approves or rejects each regulation, the federal government has imposed a ban on the sale of raw oysters in the gulf coast during warm months; a rule requiring larger construction sites to prevent turbid storm-water runoff; a mandate for stronger brakes in new tractor-trailers; stricter rules on the refrigeration of eggs; and a fine of $27,500 per passenger on airlines who hold their flight on the tarmac for more than three hours. We can’t be sure about what regulations Sunstein has stopped, if any.
But we can be sure that he hasn’t stopped the torrent of new regulations now emerging from federal agencies.
So where is Cass Sunstein? His presence remains hidden – and no one is sure if his foot is on the brakes. In fact, he’s stayed mostly out of sight since his confirmation. Asked how Sunstein’s tenure at OIRA was going, Peter Van Doren, the editor of Regulation magazine, told FrumForum:
I don’t know! Even though OIRA has been the subject of much consternation and struggle over the years, and even Sunstein’s confirmation was held up… both the left and right have said, it’s going to be amazing, and it’s happened, and he’s been in there [for nine months] and then… oops! ... I haven’t seen anything in the insider press or even in the mainstream press about [Sunstein’s work].
Van Doren, who has argued that Sunstein would be about as good an administrator of OIRA as conservatives could hope for, saw no reason to applaud the former University of Chicago professor’s performance – but none to withdraw hope either. “It might be too soon to see what he’s done… the big climate change [regulations] that were supposed to go to OIRA haven’t happened yet,” he said.
To be fair, Sunstein’s job is a low-profile one. “The nature of the OIRA job is that it mostly occurs out of the public spotlight,” said Walter Olson, the editor of Overlawyered.com and a Cato fellow.
Olson notes that the coming months are crucial to revealing whether Sunstein will oppose excessive regulation, or simply act as a White House conduit:
There are lots of signs that Obama appointees are planning a huge wave of ambitious regulation. OIRA is supposed to implement White House policy to restrain regulatory adventurism… If it isn't stopping much [regulation], that could mean that it's faithfully transmitting the wishes of a pro-regulation White House.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which endorsed Cass Sunstein’s nomination to OIRA, declined to comment specifically on Sunstein’s performance. But, the manufacturers lobbying group has been more than happy to criticize regulations coming out of agencies under Sunstein’s jurisdiction. Just a couple weeks ago, NAM VP Keith McCoy said of the EPA’s changing regulatory regime:
In a global economy, it is vital that American manufacturers not be subject to unnecessary burdens that will hinder their ability to compete with manufacturers in other countries. We remain critically concerned that EPA’s recent regulatory actions don’t meet that test.
The New York Times profile of Sunstein tells the story of his first date with his now-wife, Samantha Powers. She asked him what his dream job was, and Sunstein replied, “Ohh! OIRA!” But one wonders if Sunstein is able to do what he always set out to do: stop overbearing Federal rules.
In an interview with FrumForum, Van Doren mused about whether Sunstein’s confirmation was all just a D.C. mirage – a battle for the sake of it, without much consequence. “Cass Sunstein’s [confirmation] was one of these great scrums, and you wonder, ‘was the fight just something fun to fight about?’”
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