Executive Office of the President 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeks public comment on a proposed rule that would revise OMB's regulations found in our regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These revisions are being proposed to implement the FOIA and incorporate the provisions of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 as well as to streamline OMB's FOIA regulations by structuring the text of the regulation in an order more similar to that of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) FOIA regulation and the DOJ Office of Information Policy's Guidance for Agency FOIA Regulations, thus promoting uniformity of FOIA regulations across agencies. Additionally, the regulations would be updated to reflect developments in the case law.

The following persons have been appointed to the ONDCP Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board: Martha Gagne (as Chair), Michael Gottlieb, James Olson, and Kemp Chester.

Pursuant to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, OMB is issuing a monthly cumulative report (for August, 2018) from the Director detailing the status of rescission proposals that were previously transmitted to the Congress on May 8, 2018, and amended by the supplementary message transmitted on June 5, 2018.

The Executive Office of the President seeks input from across sectors and disciplines on capabilities that already exist as well as key considerations in pursuing the Government Effectiveness Advanced Research (GEAR) Center initiative through a request for information (RFI) now available on www.Performance.gov/GEARcenter. The Federal Government intends to pursue a Government Effectiveness Advanced Research (GEAR) Center, which would be a public-private partnership focused on applied research that improves mission delivery, citizen services, and stewardship of public resources, as proposed in Delivering Government Solutions for the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations. This non-governmental, public-private partnership would address operational and strategic challenges facing the Federal Government, both now and into the future, by engaging researchers, academics, non-profits, and private industry across an array of disciplines, such as data science, organizational behavior, and user-centered design. Through applied research and live pilot testing, the GEAR Center would connect cutting-edge thinking with real-world challenges the Federal Government faces in serving Americans in the Digital Age. This means re-imagining possibilities for how citizens interact with the Government; rethinking the delivery of citizen services and data; reforming core processes (e.g., procurement, budget, IT investment and capital allocation); and exploring how the public-sector workforce can be developed, reskilled and redeployed in creative ways.

Pursuant to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, OMB is issuing a monthly cumulative report (for July, 2018) from the Director detailing the status of rescission proposals that were previously transmitted to the Congress on May 8, 2018, and amended by the supplementary message transmitted on June 5, 2018.

On June 20, 2018, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) titled ``Update to the Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.'' The CEQ is extending the comment period on the ANPRM, which was scheduled to close on July 20, 2018, for 31 days until August 20, 2018. The CEQ is making this change in response to public requests for an extension of the comment period.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is amending the OMB guidance to agencies on governmentwide nonprocurement debarment and suspension (nonprocurement) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA) that prohibits awards to persons or entities involved in activities that violate arms control treaties or agreements with the United States. The NDAA requires revision of these OMB's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. To fully implement the NDAA requirement necessitates revision of OMB Guidelines to agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement).

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is considering updating its implementing regulations for the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Over the past four decades, CEQ has issued numerous guidance documents but has amended its regulations substantively only once. Given the length of time since its NEPA implementing regulations were issued, CEQ solicits public comment on potential revisions to update the regulations and ensure a more efficient, timely, and effective NEPA process consistent with the national environmental policy stated in NEPA.