How OIRA Works

A few months ago, I read a great essay by Sid Jha on the Chevron doctrine.

Sid had also written to me, saying he’d love a Statecraft interview about OIRA, the Office of Regulatory Affairs. It's the division of the Office of Management and the Budget that reviews all major regulations from agencies.

I thought this was a great idea, and I asked if he'd be interested in co-hosting an episode with me. Here’s the result: an interview with John D. Graham, who was the administrator of OIRA under George W. Bush.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:43) Where OIRA comes from

(09:20) How cost-benefit analysis got better

(12:59) How OIRA kills regulations

(26:51) Which agencies hate OIRA most

(34:31) Why command and control regulation persists

(39:44) What regulations OIRA focuses on

(46:10) John D. Graham vs. Dick Cheney

(50:46) Graham and the English First movement