Obama Revokes Bush Executive Orders Concerning Regulatory Planning And Review

On January 30, President Barack Obama revoked Executive Order 13258 of February 26, 2002, and Executive Order 13422 of January 18, 2007, concerning regulatory planning and review, which amended Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993. EO 13258 eliminated the vice president's formal role in reviewing agency regulations. EO 13422 amended the Clinton-era executive order (12866) on regulatory review that agencies relied on for the first six years of Bush's presidency. EO 13422 further politicized the regulatory process and threatened to prevent regulatory agencies from setting new standards that protect the public. EO 13422 has been criticized because it: 1) gave agency "regulatory policy officers" the ability to scuttle proposed regulations without the input of the public or agency experts and 2) granted the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) the power to review and edit agency guidance documents - a class which could include agency opinions, scientific documents, or memoranda and which, by definition, are nonbinding.