Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah—the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee—introduced his former staffer, Neomi Rao, to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Rao has been nominated by the President to serve as the next Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Senator Hatch expressed his strong support for Rao’s confirmation and also outlined his agenda to further regulatory reform.

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Statement on Professor Neomi Rao and regulatory reform:

“Mr. Chairman, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Professor Neomi Rao at today’s hearing, and to fully commend her confirmation to the committee. I’ve known Professor Rao for some time, ever since she worked as a counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since then, Professor Rao has distinguished herself in private practice, government service, and academia. Her experiences have prepared her well for what will be an important and challenging task ahead.

Over the span of several past administrations, a consensus has formed that an important step in streamlining and improving the administrative process is to empower an OIRA Administrator. Professor Rao is supremely and uniquely qualified to step into this role. Under her watch, we can expect OIRA to carefully scrutinize rules to assure that they satisfy cost-benefit analysis.”

Statement on continuing regulatory reform efforts:

“But, of course, as Professor Rao gets to work, we can’t take our eye off the ball here in Congress. We will need more than just exceptional candidates like Professor Rao at OIRA. The legislative branch must do its part. That’s why I was pleased to co-sponsor the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), along with Senators Portman, Lankford, Manchin, and Heitkamp. The committee reported this legislation to the full Senate last month. I’m hopeful that the rest of our colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, will join us in making it law.

The RAA is a carefully negotiated, bipartisan effort to codify existing policy that streamlines and improves the rulemaking process. Further, I’ll be introducing legislation later this month, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, that will begin a conversation about the growth of federal regulation enabled by the Chevron doctrine and abetted by broad legislative delegation. Just like the confirmation of Professor Rao, these efforts at regulatory reform are not about politics. Regardless of which party controls the Presidency, regardless of which controls Congress, our administrative process is broken. The time to fix it is now.” 

The full introduction, as prepared for delivery, is below:

Mr. Chairman, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Professor Neomi Rao at today’s hearing, and to fully commend her confirmation to the committee. I’ve known Professor Rao for some time, ever since she worked as a counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since then, Professor Rao has distinguished herself in private practice, government service, and academia. Her experiences have prepared her well for what will be an important and challenging task ahead. 

The position of Administrator of OIRA may not receive as much fanfare as other nominations, but it plays a critical role in modern policymaking. This administration has said that it would get serious about regulatory reform. Republicans in Congress have said the same. Professor Rao’s confirmation will be an important step forward in fulfilling that promise.  

Professor Rao’s qualifications speak for themselves. After graduating from Yale, Professor Rao attended the University of Chicago Law School. She then clerked for Judge Harvie Wilkinson III on the Fourth Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. After spending a few years in private practice, she served as an Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to the President, and then began a career in academia. She currently teaches at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where she is also the founder and director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State. 

Mr. Chairman, there is little doubt at this point that our present system for formulating and implementing federal regulatory policy is simply unacceptable. For years, citizens and businesses have complained about an administrative process that is opaque and unresponsive. And for years, this process has produced results that too often harm economic growth, while rarely improving public health and welfare.

Accordingly, over the span of several past administrations, a consensus has formed that an important step in streamlining and improving the administrative process is to empower an OIRA Administrator. Professor Rao is supremely and uniquely qualified to step into this role. Under her watch, we can expect OIRA to carefully scrutinize rules to assure that they satisfy cost-benefit analysis.

But, of course, as Professor Rao gets to work, we can’t take our eye off the ball here in Congress. We will need more than just exceptional candidates like Professor Rao at OIRA. The legislative branch must do its part. That’s why I was pleased to co-sponsor the Regulatory Accountability Act, along with Senators Portman, Lankford, Manchin, and Heitkamp. The committee reported this legislation to the full Senate last month. I’m hopeful that the rest of our colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, will join us in making it law.

The RAA is a carefully negotiated, bipartisan effort to codify existing policy that streamlines and improves the rulemaking process. Further, I’ll be introducing legislation later this month, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, that will begin a conversation about the growth of federal regulation enabled by the Chevron doctrine and abetted by broad legislative delegation. Just like the confirmation of Professor Rao, these efforts at regulatory reform are not about politics. Regardless of which party controls the Presidency, regardless of which controls Congress, our administrative process is broken. The time to fix it is now.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I’ll say one more time that I am very pleased to be here today to introduce and recommend Professor Rao for this important post. The federal policymaking process, and federal policy generally, will stand to benefit from her leadership. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today.