Latest news with #OfficeofManagementandBudget
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
There's hope for pruning federal regulations. Some state experiments are paying off
President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes $100 million for the Office of Management and Budget 'to pay expenses associated with improving regulatory processes and analyzing and reviewing rules.' Following the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, this small investment won't make many headlines — but it should. If that money is put to use in the way several states have done to reduce built-up red tape, the return on investment will make even the crankiest budget hawk crack a smile. A recent Council of Economic Advisers report found that just a modest portion of the president's deregulatory agenda could save the nation some $907 billion. Californians, who live in America's most-regulated state, understand these costs better than most. Take housing, for example. California's thriving economy and broad appeal are a recipe for expensive homes, but its famously stringent building and other restrictions create something else: enough scarcity to propel home prices to around 2.5 times the national median. The costs extend further than the sticker price. They make it harder to rebuild after a natural disaster. They send workers and employers fleeing for other states or far-flung areas. They keep young people from finding their way to Westwood, Berkeley or Silicon Valley for better futures. All of this adds up, and it's about more than a handful of 'good' or 'bad' regulations. It's about moving too slowly to streamline an entire system that fails millions of people. Federal officials now have resources and a mandate to identify failures in the federal code — the question is 'how?' The answer is taking shape. Federal officials can look at a specific playbook that's getting results in nearby Richmond, Va. Shortly after taking office in 2022, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order setting the ambitious goal of cutting regulatory requirements by 25% by the end of his term. As of this month, his administration has hit the target, and Virginia's Office of Regulatory Management anticipates cutting nearly 33% — and 50% of the words in related guidance documents — by the end of his term. These numbers are not smoke and mirrors or budgeting gimmicks. Virginia painstakingly and comprehensively inventoried its regulations, including third-party standards that are referenced (which therefore become regulations, too) and guidance documents. Every change has been meticulously and transparently cataloged on the state's regulatory town hall website. And what's the return on investment? So far, it's saving Virginia businesses and citizens more than $1.2 billion per year. From reducing the number of training hours required to earn a living as a licensed cosmetologist to streamlining housing regulations (estimated to shave $24,000 off the construction cost of a new house and enable construction professionals to work much faster), working people are coming out ahead. Virginia is showing Washington that substantial regulatory reform can be accomplished on a shoestring budget. The office that was stood up to oversee the reforms — the Office of Regulatory Management — consists of only four dedicated employees: a director, a deputy director and two policy analysts. Going forward, artificial intelligence will further reduce the costs of cataloguing and processing untold amounts of regulatory requirements. The technology is a perfect fit for regulatory text. It can process thousands of pages in a tiny fraction of the time it takes a person — and given the hundreds of thousands of pages of such text on the books in Washington, investing in AI-driven regulatory review tech should be a top priority for that $100-million budget. The White House can also learn from Virginia's specific application of AI. The state is undertaking a pilot program with at least two separate approaches. First, its AI tool will scan both statutory and regulatory codes side by side and identify the regulatory requirements that go beyond the minimum laid out by statute. Many of these 'discretionary' requirements may still prove necessary to protect public health and safety, but some will not. A human being will then look at the mismatches and examine which regulations to consider scaling back. Second, the tool will compare each government agency's regulatory code against the corresponding codes of other states. A human being will again review the results and identify instances in which Virginia regulation is needlessly stricter than that of other states. For example, the algorithm might flag that Virginia requires professional masseurs to undergo 500 hours of training, while the least restrictive state requires only 300 hours. Absent evidence that the other state produces subpar or unsafe practitioners, Virginia officials might decide the 500-hour requirement is too strict. Of course, a state may have a perfectly legitimate reason to impose stricter regulatory restrictions than others. That's why the algorithm merely creates a 'heat map' to start the process of identifying onerous burdens. By producing the necessary analysis in a matter of seconds, it allows officials to focus on applying human insight and judgment. Led by Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas officials — noting my findings that their state is America's fifth-most-regulated and could see a half-trillion-dollar economic boost with its own deregulation effort — are now taking a similar approach to Virginia's. Imagine if the federal government were to implement similar technology. Gone would be the days of regulations from different agencies contradicting each other or outdated rules remaining on the books because humans haven't had the time to update them. The Trump administration hasn't shied away from making big bets and pushing fundamental reforms. With just a $100-million investment, officials in the Office of Management and Budget can now transform the way Washington regulates. They should start by talking to their counterparts in Richmond. Patrick A. McLaughlin, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, created the RegData and QuantGov projects, which quantify regulations using data-science tools and have informed reforms in several states.
CNN
a day ago
- Business
- CNN
Social Security is making it harder for seniors to do routine tasks by phone in latest anti-fraud effort
Senior citizens soon won't be able to simply call the Social Security Administration to change their address or check the status of their benefit claim. Instead, they will have to first verify their identity online or go to a field office if they are unable to do so. In its latest effort to thwart fraud, the agency is expanding its online authentication requirement for address changes, claim status requests, benefit verification letters and tax statements, according to a regulatory filing Social Security recently submitted to the Office of Management and Budget. The agency intends to implement the change by August 18, assuming OMB approves it. Advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns that many senior citizens and people with disabilities will not be able to complete the verification process, which includes the generation of a one-time PIN, through their mySocialSecurity accounts. The agency said in the filing that it expects 3.4 million people will need to go to field offices annually to complete the tasks. 'For many older Americans, the phone is how they access Social Security services without having to rely on complicated technology or long, difficult, or costly trips to field offices,' Nancy LeaMond, AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. 'We are concerned that under this new policy, older Americans, especially those in rural areas, will have to call, wait on hold for possibly hours, and then wait weeks for an appointment — and in some cases even take time off work — to complete simple transactions they have long been able to do over the phone,' she wrote, urging the commissioner to reconsider the measure. After the publication of this story, a Social Security spokesperson said the report was inaccurate. The new identification process will not lead to increased field office visits and is 'completely optional,' the spokesperson said in an email to CNN. But in the agency's regulatory filing, there is no indication that the new policy is optional. The agency states in the filing that it expects there will be 3.4 million 'Respondents who decline to use SAP (Security Authentication PIN) and visit a field office for in-person identity proofing.' It currently takes 35 days to get an appointment at a Social Security field office, according to the agency, which has been reducing staff amid a major reorganization. The new policy is the agency's latest controversial attempt to combat fraud, spurred by the Trump administration. Prior efforts sparked widespread confusion among beneficiaries, who flocked to Social Security's 800 number or field offices, fearing they had to prove their identities in order to continue receiving their monthly payments. Social Security had to walk back a measure instituted this spring to review retirement benefit applications for fraud after the process created a backlog and flagged only a tiny number of claims for additional verification. But the agency retained an initiative that bars beneficiaries from changing their direct deposit information by telephone, requiring that they do so through their online accounts or at field offices. That policy is expected to send an additional 1.9 million people to field offices annually. There is no documentation that requesting address changes and other routine tasks over the phone leads to fraud, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 'There's just no evidence that this is a problem,' said Romig, who worked for the agency during the Biden administration. The new anti-fraud policies will increase field visits by 17%, requiring beneficiaries to spend 3 million hours driving to offices to complete their transactions, she estimated. The latest effort also aligns with Bisignano's push to have more beneficiaries use the agency's online services to handle their requests. All the tasks that require added verification can be done through mySocialSecurity. This article has been updated with additional developments.
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding
The Trump administration is blocking all funding that flows to outside health researchers—billions of dollars in funding that would have gone to study diabetes, cancer and more. The pause came in the form of a footnote from the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought's office, in a document that doles out federal funds to the National Institutes of Health. The footnote stipulated that the agency's funding for the remainder of the fiscal year could only go to staff salaries and expenses, not to new grants or certain grants that are up for renewal. Most NIH-funded research is done by outside scientists at labs across the country.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Social Security is making it harder for seniors to do routine tasks by phone in latest anti-fraud effort
FacebookTweetLink Senior citizens soon won't be able to simply call the Social Security Administration to change their address or check the status of their benefit claim. Instead, they will have to first verify their identity online or go to a field office if they are unable to do so. In its latest effort to thwart fraud, the agency is expanding its online authentication requirement for address changes, claim status requests, benefit verification letters and tax statements, according to a regulatory filing Social Security recently submitted to the Office of Management and Budget. The agency intends to implement the change by August 18. Advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns that many senior citizens and people with disabilities will not be able to complete the verification process through their mySocialSecurity accounts. The agency said in the filing that it expects 3.4 million people will need to go to field offices annually to complete the tasks. 'For many older Americans, the phone is how they access Social Security services without having to rely on complicated technology or long, difficult, or costly trips to field offices,' Nancy LeaMond, AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. 'We are concerned that under this new policy, older Americans, especially those in rural areas, will have to call, wait on hold for possibly hours, and then wait weeks for an appointment — and in some cases even take time off work — to complete simple transactions they have long been able to do over the phone,' she wrote, urging the commissioner to reconsider the measure. It currently takes 35 days to get an appointment at a Social Security field office, according to the agency, which has been reducing staff amid a major reorganization. The new policy is the agency's latest controversial attempt to combat fraud, spurred by the Trump administration. Prior efforts sparked widespread confusion among beneficiaries, who flocked to Social Security's 800 number or field offices, fearing they had to prove their identities in order to continue receiving their monthly payments. Social Security had to walk back a measure instituted this spring to review retirement benefit applications for fraud after the process created a backlog and flagged only a tiny number of claims for additional verification. But the agency retained an initiative that bars beneficiaries from changing their direct deposit information by telephone, requiring that they do so through their online accounts or at field offices. That policy is expected to send an additional 1.9 million people to field offices annually. There is no documentation that requesting address changes and other routine tasks over the phone leads to fraud, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 'There's just no evidence that this is a problem,' said Romig, who worked for the agency during the Biden administration. The new anti-fraud policies will increase field visits by 17%, requiring beneficiaries to spend 3 million hours driving to offices to complete their transactions, she estimated. The latest effort also aligns with Bisignano's push to have more beneficiaries use the agency's online services to handle their requests. All the tasks that require added verification can be done through mySocialSecurity. Social Security did not return a request for comment on the regulatory filing.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trump EPA will propose repealing finding that climate change endangers public health
The Trump administration will propose the repeal of a landmark 2009 determination that climate change poses a danger to the public, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday. 'EPA has sent to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding from the Obama EPA,' Zeldin told Newsmax. 'Through the endangerment finding, there has been into the trillions worth of regulations, including tailpipe emissions and including electric vehicle mandates,' he added. In 2009, then-President Obama's administration made a formal determination that greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane posed a threat to public health. It found emissions from vehicles contributed to the problem. The finding provided a legal basis for EPA regulations on these planet-heating gases, including for its rules requiring automakers' to cut emissions from their vehicle fleets. While these rules did not explicitly mandate a pivot to electric vehicles, standards issued by the Biden administration were expected to push the vehicle market toward more electric cars in the years ahead. The EPA's plans to propose a rule to repeal the finding were first reported by The New York Times. The Trump administration's move comes despite a consensus from the scientific community that human activity, especially its use of fossil fuels, is heating up the planet. This heating in turn exacerbates extreme weather. During President Trump's first term, his administration weakened limits on planet-warming emissions, including from vehicles, but it did not repeal the endangerment finding. The proposal to repeal it signals an escalation that could prevent the agency from having climate regulations on the books at all. Zealan Hoover, who served as a senior EPA advisor during the Biden administration said it is 'insane' to say that climate change doesn't impact U.S. health and welfare. 'We are right back to full-throated climate denialism of the early 2000s,' Hoover said. 'Climate change impacts public health because it changes the Earth's climate patterns in ways that are beyond both what the human body and our built systems, evolved to have been designed to adapt [to], so that looks like extreme heat, which can cause heat stress and death…. it leads to sea level rise, which you know is makes for more damaging storm surges and even flooding on, non-storm days,' he added. President Trump has repeatedly denied the existence of climate change, sought to downplay its impacts, repeal regulations meant to combat the problem and defund efforts to research and mitigate it. The EPA's 2009 endangerment finding came after a 2007 Supreme Court case which said that the agency can regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act and that the agency should decide whether they imperil public health. The Trump administration had previously signaled that it could repeal the finding. During his confirmation hearing, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin declined to say whether he believed the EPA had a responsibility to regulate climate change. In March, the agency said it would reconsider the finding without saying what the outcome of that reconsideration would be. The move also echoes a similar proposal from the agency to determine that powerplants' planet-warming emissions 'do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution' and therefore should not be regulated. The EPA appears to be preparing a proposal rather than a final decision, meaning the formal revocation of the endangerment finding could be months or even years away. Updated at 6:36 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
