The White House has issued an executive order directing executive departments and agencies to significantly reduce regulatory burdens by requiring that, unless prohibited by law, at least 10 existing regulations be identified for repeal whenever a new regulation is proposed or promulgated. For fiscal year 2025, agency heads are also directed to ensure the total incremental cost of all new regulations and repeals finalized during the year is significantly less than zero, as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), unless otherwise required by law or instructed by the Director. The order establishes a regulatory budgeting framework under which new regulatory costs must, to the extent permitted by law, be offset by eliminating existing costs associated with at least 10 prior regulations, with OMB to issue guidance on cost measurement and estimation, qualification standards for new and offsetting actions, treatment of costs across fiscal years, cross-agency cost offsets, and waiver criteria. “Regulation” is defined broadly to include not only formal rules but also memoranda, administrative orders, guidance documents, policy statements, and interagency agreements, while excluding rules related to military, national security, homeland security, foreign affairs, or immigration functions, internal agency organization and personnel, and other categories exempted by the OMB Director. Beginning with the Regulatory Plans for fiscal year 2026 and for each year thereafter, agencies must provide OMB with aggregated identification of offsetting regulations and their best estimate of costs or savings, and only regulations approved by OMB during the Presidential budget process are to be included in the Unified Regulatory Agenda, with additions, removals, and issuance of regulations outside the Agenda requiring the Director’s approval. The order also directs the OMB Director to revoke the November 9, 2023 version of OMB Circular A-4 and reinstate the September 17, 2003 version, and instructs the Secretary of the Treasury and the OMB Director to reinstate the April 11, 2018 Treasury-OMB memorandum of agreement on review of tax regulations under Executive Order 12866.
The White House 2025-01-31
The White House orders a ten-for-one repeal requirement for new federal regulations and sets a negative regulatory cost cap for fiscal year 2025
The White House issued an executive order requiring executive departments and agencies to repeal at least 10 existing regulations for each new one proposed, unless prohibited by law. It establishes a regulatory budgeting framework to offset new regulatory costs by eliminating costs from prior regulations, with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It also revokes the November 2023 version of OMB Circular A-4, reinstating the September 2003 version, and reinstates the April 2018 Treasury-OMB memorandum on tax regulation review.