Energy  

Indian Affairs

Mining

This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee held legislative hearings on several mining/minerals-related bills:

• "Small Miner Waiver Act" (S. 303):  Amending the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to require BLM to provide a claimant of a small miner waiver from claim maintenance fees with a period of 60 days after written receipt of one/more defects is provided to the claimant by registered mail to cure those defects or pay the claim maintenance fee.
   
• "Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act" (S. 1492): Providing for conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site.

For witness roster, testimony, and to view an archived webcast of the hearing, see here.

The Senate passed the House version of legislation intended to clarify the illegality of inside-trading by Congress and the Executive Branch.  "The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act" (S. 2038) passed by a vote of 96-3.  President Obama has already committed to sign the bill into laws. 

The Obama Administration, which has been under Congressional scrutiny for how it carries out cost-benefit analyses as part of its regulatory processes, responded this week with the issuance of new guidance on the topic.  The White House Office of Budget and Management (OBM), sent a memorandum to the heads of federal agencies outlining the details of new guidance on consideration of "cumulative impacts" of regulations. 

"Consistent with Executive Order 13563, and to the extent permitted by law, agencies should take active steps to take account of the cumulative effects of new and existing rules and to identify opportunities to harmonize and streamline multiple rules. The goals of this effort should be to simplify requirements on the public and private sectors; to ensure against unjustified, redundant, or excessive requirements; and ultimately to increase the net benefits of regulations."

The guidance says that agencies should consider the following steps, "where appropriate and feasible, and to the extent permitted by law": 

• Early consultation with, advance notice to, and close engagement with affected stakeholders to discuss potential interactions between rulemakings under consideration and existing regulations as well as other anticipated regulatory requirements;
   
• Early engagement with state, tribal, and local regulatory agencies to identify opportunities for harmonizing regulatory requirements, reducing administrative costs, avoiding unnecessary or inconsistent requirements, and otherwise improving regulatory outcomes;
   
• Use of Requests for Information and Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking to obtain public input on potentially overlapping rulemakings and on rulemakings that may have significant cumulative effects;
   
• Specific consideration of the cumulative effects of regulations on small businesses and start-ups;
   
• Identification of opportunities to increase the net benefits of regulations and to reduce administrative and other costs, while meeting policy goals and legal requirements;
   
• Careful consideration, in the analysis of costs and benefits, of the relationship between new regulations and regulations that are already in effect;
   
• Identification of opportunities to integrate and simplify the requirements of new and existing rules, so as to eliminate inconsistency and redundancy;
   
• Coordination of timing, content, and requirements of multiple rulemakings that are contemplated for a particular industry or sector, so as to increase net benefits; and
   
• Consideration of the interactive and cumulative effects of multiple regulations affecting individual sectors as part of agencies’ retrospective analysis of existing rules, consistent with Executive Order 13563.

"Where appropriate and feasible, agencies should consider cumulative effects and opportunities for regulatory harmonization as part of their analysis of particular rules, and should carefully assess the appropriate content and timing of rules in light of those effects and opportunities. Consideration of cumulative effects and of opportunities to reduce burdens and to increase net benefits should be part of the assessment of costs and benefits, consistent with the requirement of Executive Order 13563 that, to the extent permitted by law, agencies must "select, in choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, those approaches that maximize net benefits."  Agencies should avoid unintentional burdens that could result from an exclusive focus on the most recent regulatory activities.  As noted, the cumulative effects on small businesses and start-ups deserve particular attention."

This guidance is effective immediately. / See Sustein's memo here.

The House Judiciary Committee approved another regulatory reform bill this week. "The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act of 2012" (H.R. 4078) would prohibit all rules that would have an economic impact of $100 million until the unemployment rate drops to six percent or lower.  The bill includes exceptions for regulations to address an imminent threat to health or safety, enforce criminal laws, protect national security or implement an international trade agreement.  A substitute amendment, adopted 13-12, also added a mechanism for the President to ask Congress for a waiver of the regulation ban.

For more mark-up details, see here.

The House Judiciary Committee's Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee held an oversight hearing this week entitled "Federal Regulations and Regulatory Reform under the Obama Administration."  Witnesses included:  Cass Sustein,
Administrator, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and various academic experts.

For witness roster, testimony and to access an archived webcast of the hearing, see here.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held an oversight hearing "Retooling Government for the 21st Century: The President's Reorganization Plan and Reducing Duplication."  Witnesses were:  Daniel I. Werfel, Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget and Patricia A. Dalton, Chief Operating Offices, Government Accountability Office.  For hearing details, see here.
 

House Government Oversight Committee Holds Hearing On the Freedom of Information Act

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform held an oversight hearing on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  The hearing -- entitled  "FOIA in the 21st Century: Using Technology to Improve Transparency in Government" --
featured witnesses from the National Archives, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice, along with a representative from the watchdog group OMB Watch.

The House Natural Resources Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Subcommittee held an oversight hearing to look at the economic implications of the President's proposed National Ocean Policy.  "Empty Hooks: The National Ocean Policy is the Latest Threat to Access for Recreational and Commercial Fishermen" featured recreational, commercial and charter fishing representatives.

For witness roster, testimony and to access an archived webcast of the hearing, see here.