Nancy Mitchell is associate director of the Council. She has no specialty. Bill Burrow is associate director. He specializes in education and labor. Vice President's Staff: John Howard is general counsel to the vice president. While not officially Council staff, he works with them. David Juday is deputy assistant to the vice president for domestic policy. White House Staff: C. Boyden Gray is counsel to the president and was formerly director of the Quayle Council's predecessor, the Bush Task Force of Regulatory Relief. He is currently heading up the Council's working group on deregulation. Gray is credited with encouraging Bush's deep interest in protecting presidential prerogatives from Congress (e.g., the regulatory review process). Gray is well-liked by the President and First Lady and is a tennis partner of Bush. D. Allan Bromley is assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Roger B. Porter is assistant to president for economic and domestic policy. He is reportedly close to Bush and very influential over domestic policy. Lawrence Lindsey is special assistant to the president for policy development, hired by Roger Porter. A vocal supporter of supply side economics, he has authored a book on the subject. Lindsey is chairman of the biotechnology working group. Like John Howard, he is not official Council staff, but works on Council issues. Teresa Gorman is a special assistant to the president for policy development. She has been involved in developing the administration's position on wetlands. Rachel Levinson is works in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and is vice chairman of the biotechnology working group. Office of Management and Budget: Frank Hodsoll is executive associate director and chief financial officer of OMB. As CFO, he has oversight of OIRA's activities. James B. MacRae, Jr is acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and meets "regularly" with Allan Hubbard and David McIntosh to discuss regulatory programs under current review. THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON November 14, 1991 Dear Senator Glenn: Thank you for your letter to the Vice President dated November 12 requesting that he or his designee testify before your committee tomorrow on the subject of regulatory review. Unfortunately, due to longstanding tradition, and in accordance with the doctrine of separation of powers, neither the Vice President nor his staff will be able to testify, because they participate in the deliberative process through which Executive policy is developed. I understand that an Administration representative will be at your hearing, and I trust that this representative will address your concerns. This is to register the concern of over 5000 small businesses with S. 1942, legislation dealing with Executive Branch regulatory review. After attending hearings on the legislation and reviewing the testimony presented, it is our belief that the legislation would have a negative impact on small business. S. 1942 places new constraints on substantive review of agency rulemaking by Executive Branch officials. In so doing, it lessens the effectiveness of a review process which often helps prevent burdensome regulations from being promulgated by federal agencies. In the name of increasing accountability, the legislation would subject the Executive Branch to a set of rules which Congress would be loathe to apply to itself. It is no secret that federal agencies often publish proposed regulations without properly taking into account the economic impact that these regulations would have on small firms. The fact that the bureaucracy frequently misunderstands the impact of a proposed regulation argues for an increased oversight role by White House policymakers. Senior Executive Branch officials can effectively consider the impact on small business by applying a rigorous cost-benefit or other economic analysis to a proposed rule. This senior level involvement usually meets with much opposition from the agency, and therefore the internal debate during the review process often occurs separate from the agency. To attempt to make the debate public would politicize discussions among senior administration economists and policy analysts. Moreover, to require disclosure of all oral or written communications between Executive Branch officials regarding a regulation would be similar to requiring Congress to give full reports on the substance of all meetings with campaign contributors, federal regulators, other Representatives or Senators, all staff, and constituents. S. 1942 Page 2 Members of the undersigned trade associations believe the Council on Competitiveness and other Executive Branch review offices should be allowed to operate as a separate Branch of government. Congress should not attempt to guide policy decisions that are rightly the Executive Branch's responsibility. But that is just what is being proposed by S. 1942 by means of opening up the internal Executive Branch decisionmaking process for interest groups and Congress to politicize. When a regulation is not being implemented consistent to the statue often our members' only choice is to go to the Executive Branch. Small businesses are generally not part of the "Iron Triangle" a term used to describe the relationship that exists between Congress, the regulatory agencies, and public interest groups. Small business simply does not have the resources to develop working relationships with lower level agency rulemakers, but those rulemakers know those who fund their salaries (Congress) or lobby for new spending initiatives or rules (public interest groups). The result of the Iron Triangle is usually new regulation and laws, most of which falls on the shoulders of small business. One example of this phenomenon are the hearings on S. 1942 which have heard from three public interest groups, two unions, two pro-regulation university professors, but not a single representative of small business. Is the Committee's door open to all views? We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these issues in greater detail with members of the Committee prior to the expected markup of S. 1942. Sincerely, WH Smith Jeffrey C. Smith THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHARTERBOAT OPERATORS (NACO) in writing to express the AFL-CIO's strong support for $.1342, the Regulatory Review Sunshine Act. We heartily endorse *xis legislation which would bring the activities of the office of Management and Budget and the Council on Competitiveness into the The AFL-CIO has been dismayed over the increasing interference Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Competitiveness in the regulatory affairs of executive branch Mysticles. Over the years, OMB's activities have expanded well beyond its original role of reviewing and coordinating government gations. Since 1981 OMB has increasingly used its authority order the Paperwork Reduction Act and various executive orders to Bock, delay, and otherwise interfere with important regulatory Anitiatives. Now the Council on Competitiveness, chaired by Vice President Quayle, has begun to assist OMB in impeding rulemaking activity and creating a backdoor, off-the-record appeal process for businesses opposed to government regulation. The activities of OMB and the Council have impacted regulations in a number of areas. Of particular concern to the AFL-CIO is the interference in various worker protection regulations proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health koministration. For example, OMB has interfered with OSHA's rules on formaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen. Under the guise of the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB blocked the labelling and hazard Communication components of OSHA's standard, which give workers important information about the potentially carcinogenic and other health effects of this toxic substance. OMB's interference in the standard continues to date. After labor and industry negotiated a compromise proposal following a court challenge to the standard, OMB blocked publication of the proposed rule, delaying further action for months. The final revised standard has yet to be issued. |