OSHA and the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will be among the agencies affected by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump yesterday that requires federal agencies that want to enact a new regulation to eliminate two existing regulations.
The “one in, two out” plan is intended to reduce regulatory burdens on U.S. companies, especially small businesses. The order, which comes amid a temporary regulatory freeze issued by the White House, order does not apply to military or national security agencies.
"If you have a regulation you want, number one, we're not going to approve it because it's already been approved probably in 17 different forms. But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if there's a new regulation, they have to knock out two,” Trump said.
The order directs the White House Office of Management and Budget to provide each agency with a regulatory budget starting in 2018.
Congressional action as well
Republican legislators this week are expected to embark upon their own regulatory rollback using the Congressional Review Act, which was passed in 1996. Among the rules Washington observers predict they’ll target: one limiting the venting of greenhouse gas from oil industry facilities and one another requiring federal contractors to report previous labor law violations, among others.