Existing deregulatory maneuvers, which have undermined public health, safety, environment, equity, civil rights, fairness, justice and democracy should be repealed.
Recommendations for Action on Day One
- Rescind Executive Orders Undermining Important Public Protections
Rescind the deregulatory executive orders (and accompanying implementation memos) that undermine agencies’ ability to fulfill their public-service missions. These orders include Executive Orders 13771 (1-in, 2-out), 13777 (regulatory reform officers in each agency and deregulatory task forces), 13783 (promoting fossil fuels), 13891 (discouraging agency guidance), 13892 (standards for enforcement actions), and 13924 (suggesting waivers of regulatory requirements made during the COVID-19 pandemic should be made permanent).
- Delay implementation of rules not yet in effect.
The administration should actively use all available tools to delay implementation of rules that have been finalized but are not yet in effect. First, following recent common practice during administration transitions, it should issue a memorandum directing all agencies to delay implementation of final rules not yet in effect for 60 days, and, with limited exception, impose a moratorium on rules in the regulatory pipeline. Second, it should direct agencies to issue new interim final rules or to propose new rules to delay implementation of problematic rules, to give itself time to issue new rules to rescind or improve the underlying substantive rules. Third, the administration should make liberal use of Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act, which permits an agency to delay implementation of a rule that is being reviewed by a court.
- Begin rulemakings to reverse key, problematic rules issued during the past four years and, as a parallel process, establish a Task Force to identify regulations that need to be redone.
During the transition, identify regulations issued in the past four years that should be prioritized for reversal and commence rulemakings at the inception of the new administration. Work on these rules should not be delayed or deferred pending the Task Force process described immediately below. At the outset of the new administration, issue a Presidential Directive creating an interagency task force to identify rules issued in the past four years that fall into two distinct but overlapping areas that should be prioritized for new rulemakings: (1) rulemakings that were “tainted” or “corrupt” due to conflicts of interest, willful violations of the rulemaking process, suppression of science or undue influence by corporate interests and (2) regulatory changes that harmed consumers, workers, and the environment, along with rules that disproportionately targeted and hurt women, minorities, LGBTQ communities, and other vulnerable populations such as children, the poor, and the elderly. The Task Force should solicit comments from the public on rules that fall into either category. The Task Force should submit its prioritized list to the president no later than four months after being formed. The president should provide a timeframe for agency heads to undertake new prioritized rulemakings.