Wanted: Regulatory Agendas For 2012

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the federal government is required to give notice of significant rulemaking activities by publishing semi-annual regulatory agendas (unified agendas) that describe current and intended activity on federal regulations and standards. Typically, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issues an April regulatory agenda sometime during the summer and an October regulatory agenda sometime in the winter.

No current year regulatory agendas have been published. The only regulatory agenda published in 2012, was for the fall of 2011. And despite promises that an April 2012 regulatory agenda was forthcoming, no agenda was published. This has caught the attention of Republicans in Congress. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) sent a letter to the President in late August stating: "Concerns about bad press in an election year are no excuse for keeping these plans under wraps. With regulatory burdens already hindering job creation, the