EPA and OMB

Q: Based on your experience at the Office of Management and Budget, what do you think the historic nature of the EPA/OMB relationship is, and how do you think that relationship could be improved?

MR. ALM: In general, that relationship has been a pretty uneasy one. And one of the problems has been the OMB regulatory review process. Within it, junior people have a lot of power, particularly to delay decision-making. It creates a lot of tension between OMB and EPA. Perhaps an expedited process for reaching decisions between EPA and OMB and the White House would help. During the time I was there, the problem was that you never really knew where things were. It just seemed like the issues would wind up in OMB, and unless there was some sort of real pressure, like a court deadline, it was very hard to break them loose.

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EPA and OMB

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