Federal Rulemaking: The Role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Executive Order 12291, issued by President Reagan in 1981, gave OIRA the responsibility to review the substance of agencies' regulatory actions before publication in the Federal Register. The office's regulatory review role was initially highly controversial, and it has been criticized at different times as being both too active and too passive regarding agencies' rules. Although OIRA has a number of specific statutory responsibilities (e.g., paperwork review and regulatory accounting), as a component of OMB it is part of the Executive Office of the President, and helps ensure that covered agencies' rules reflect the President's policies and priorities.