Memorandum on the Review
of Federal Regulatory Programs
Memorandum
for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
Subject:
Comprehensive Review of Federal Regulatory Programs
In
1981, I identified regulatory relief as one of the four key elements for the
recovery of our economy. I established the Presidential Task Force on
Regulatory Relief, chaired by Vice President George Bush. Under Task Force
auspices, we initiated substantial changes to over 100 existing burdensome
rules, saving businesses and consumers billions of dollars each year. The Task
Force also saw to the successful implementation of Executive Order No. 12291,
the most successful program ever initiated to ensure that agency regulations
are no more burdensome than necessary while accomplishing the goals mandated by
law. In 1985, I signed Executive Order No. 12498 to set forth annually the
Administration's regulatory priorities, and we published these Regulatory
Programs of the United States Government in 1985 and 1986. In addition, since
1980, we reduced the burden of Federal paperwork imposed on the public by over
600 million hours annually.
It
is clear, however, that existing regulatory law, patched together over more
than 50 years, creates a diverse and often discordant network of legal authorities,
statutory obligations, and private responsibilities and liabilities. The time
has come to look at the underlying legislation itself, as one means of ensuring
that we in government have done all we can to improve America's productivity
and international competitiveness.
Accordingly,
I am reestablishing the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief under the
chairmanship of the Vice President, and I am directing it to review existing
Federal regulatory programs and to develop legislative or other proposals to
further eliminate or reduce unnecessary regulatory and paperwork burdens upon
the American public and improve American productivity and competitiveness.
The
Task Force will consist of the Vice President, as chairman; the Attorney General
of the United States; the Secretary of Commerce; the Secretary of Labor; the
Secretary of the Treasury; the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; and the Assistant to the
President for Policy Development. Other Cabinet and agency heads will be
invited to participate as appropriate.
The
Task Force will seek your help in identifying and developing proposals for
further reducing unnecessary regulatory and paperwork burdens. Each of you
should provide the Task Force with all the information and assistance it may
require. In making and executing Task Force recommendations, you should adhere
to the regulatory principles stated in Section 2 of Executive Order No. 12291
and Section 1(d) of Executive Order No. 12498.
The
Task Force will evaluate selected regulatory programs, including financial
regulation, natural gas regulation, transportation regulation, procurement
regulation, drug regulation, export controls, regulatory barriers to innovation
and international competitiveness, Federally imposed
paperwork, and such other areas as it may deem appropriate. The Task Force will
review these regulatory areas in order to determine whether statutory or
administrative changes are appropriate.
The
Task Force, or the agencies that it designates, will develop and draft proposed
legislation, proposed reforms in existing regulations, or suggest other means
of implementing its recommendations. The Task Force will submit its initial
recommendations to me within nine months.
The
Task Force is to act as a catalyst for change to focus public and congressional
attention on the need to eliminate or reduce excessive, unproductive regulation
and paperwork, and to make existing regulatory programs more efficient and
effective. In so doing, the Task Force will complement your ongoing efforts to
achieve progress in these areas and to enhance
Ronald
Reagan