OIRA’s New Public Engagement Guidance Will Ensure Regulators Listen to the People
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) today released new guidance on public engagement, part of the Biden administration’s push to modernize regulatory review. Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president for Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“The Biden administration has followed through on its commitment to strengthening the rulemaking process with reforms that will increase public participation, making it more fair, democratic, and inclusive.
“For too long, corporate special interests that oppose regulatory safeguards have dominated and captured the rulemaking process by crowding out the voices of everyday Americans who benefit from regulatory protections. These reforms will level the playing field by ensuring that government agencies are listening to consumers, workers, underserved and fenceline communities, and regular people – not just corporate lobbyists who want to weaken, delay, and block new public protections.
“Congress should support and build on these reforms by passing the groundbreaking Stop Corporate Capture Act. Congress needs to take bold, aggressive steps to fix the regulatory process, so that federal agencies work to protect the American people, not corporate profits.”