The Tuesday announcement, from Cass Sunstein, Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, represents the culmination of an effort begun in January of this year when Obama issued an executive order directing each executive agency to reassess its regulatory requirements. The federal government's regulatory system “must identify and use the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends,” Obama's executive order stated.
Among the announced reforms, the Department of Health and Human Services will eliminate some reporting requirements placed on hospitals, which could save $4 billion over 5 years, and the Internal Revenue Service will streamline tax reporting requirements, which could save up to 55 million hours in annual paperwork burdens.
“We will continue to eliminate unjustified regulatory costs, and thus strengthen our economy, while taking sensible, cost-effective, evidence-based steps to protect public health and welfare,” Sunstein wrote.