Department of the Treasury Report: Regulatory
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Description of document: Department of the Treasury Report: Regulatory Reform Accomplishments Under President Trump’s Executive Orders, 2018 and Memo: Designation of Members of Regulatory Reform Task Force and Initial Report, 2017 Requested date: 14-June-2017 Release date: 01-August-2018 Posted date: 04-March-2019 Source of document: FOIA Request Department of the Treasury Washington, D.C. 20220 Fax: (202) 622-3895 Treasury Department online request portal: https://www.treasury.gov/foia/pages/gofoia.aspx The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY WASHINGTON, DC 20220 August 1, 2018 Re: Case #2017-06-136 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL This is the final response of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to the above-referenced Freedom oflnformation Act (FOIA) request dated June 14, 2017. Your request to DO seeks the following: • A copy of the report of the Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF) to the Secretary of the Treasury as required by Executive Order 13777. Your request has been processed under the provisions of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552. A reasonable search of DO files located 2 documents, totaling to 25 pages of materials, responsive to your request. After carefully considering these records, I am releasing 24 pages in full and 1 page in part. There will be no fees assessed with this request. The withheld information is protected from disclosure under the FOIA pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 5 52(b )( 6). F O IA Exemption 6 provides protection for records and information the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. This requires a balancing of the public's right to disclosure against the individual's right to privacy. The privacy interests of the individual in the records you have requested outweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure of the information. Since Treasury's partial denial response constitutes an adverse action, you have the right to appeal this determination within 90 days from the date of this letter. By filing an appeal, you preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider your request and the agency's decision. Your appeal must be in writing, signed by you or your representative, and should contain the rationale for your appeal. Please also cite the FOIA reference number noted above. Your appeal should be addressed to: FOIAAppeal FOIA and Transparency Privacy, Transparency, and Records Department of the Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20220 If you would like to discuss this response before filing an appeal to attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process, you may contact Paul Levitan, the FOIA Public Liaison, for assistance via email at [email protected], or via phone at (202) 622- 0893. If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) also mediates disputes between FOIA requesters and federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If you wish to contact OGIS, you may contact the agency directly at the following address or telephone number: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road- OGIS College Park, MD 20740-6001 ogi [email protected] ogi s. archives. gov (202) 741-5770 (877) 684-6448 If you have any questions concerning this action, please contact me at (202) 927-8989, or by email at [email protected]. Please reference FOIA case #2017-06-136 when inquiring about this case. Sincerely, Digitally signed by Karen M. Karen M. Edwards Date: 2018.08.01 09:16:56 Edwards -04'00' Karen Edwards FOIA Analyst FOIA & Transparency Privacy, Transparency, and Records (PTR) Enclosure FOIA request Final response letter Responsive document set (25 pages) 2 REGULATORY REFORM ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDERS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY APRIL 24, 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY From the start of this Administration, President Trump has made it a chief domestic policy priority to “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.”1 Through a series of government-wide and agency-specific orders, the President has launched an historic effort to reduce existing red tape and limit new regulatory costs. The Department of the Treasury has undertaken extensive efforts to implement the President’s regulatory reform agenda. This report details the steps that Treasury has taken since President Trump issued Executive Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” on February 24, 2017. Among the highlights: • Treasury has reduced its regulatory agenda by approximately 100 regulations, on net, compared to the Fall 2016 agenda. 2 Only two regulations were identified as significant “regulatory” actions in Treasury’s Fall 2017 Regulatory Plan, while the remaining items on Treasury’s Fall 2017 agenda are burden-reducing or have not yet been classified. • Treasury and its bureaus are undertaking an extensive retrospective review of existing regulations to identify burdensome, unnecessary, and outdated regulations. In February 2018, for example, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to eliminate as “deadwood” 298 tax regulations that are duplicative or obsolete and require taxpayers to navigate needlessly complex and confusing rules. • Treasury issued an October 2017 report recommending reform or withdrawal of recent significant IRS regulations. Treasury has already withdrawn two of those regulations and is in the process of proposing modifications to the others. • Treasury issued a series of reports detailing specific recommendations to make the U.S. financial regulatory system more efficient and better tailored, including recommendations concerning the regulation of banks and credit unions, capital markets, and asset management and insurance. The process to implement many of these recommendations has begun. • Treasury issued a November 2017 report recommending specific reforms to the process used by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury) to designate nonbank financial companies for enhanced prudential standards. Among other recommendations, Treasury called for the use of cost-benefit analysis to ensure the costs of FSOC’s decisions are justified by the expected benefits. The process of implementing those recommendations has begun. 1 Executive Order 13777 (Feb. 24, 2017). 2 See infra n.4. 1 • Treasury issued specific recommendations to reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by improving accountability and reducing regulatory uncertainty. Treasury also published a critical evaluation of the deficient analytical foundation of the Bureau’s ban on arbitration clauses in financial contracts—a regulation that would have imposed billions of dollars in new costs on businesses and consumers but that was nullified by a Congressional Review Act resolution. Treasury Department Regulatory Reform Under President Trump’s Executive Orders By the Numbers Treasury Regulations Eliminated or Proposed to Be 305 Eliminated or Modified Net Reduction in Regulations on Treasury’s 94 Regulatory Agenda3 Specific Treasury Recommendations to Reform & >250 Reduce Burdens of Financial Regulation 0 Regulatory Actions Under Executive Order 13771 BACKGROUND President Trump took several executive actions at the beginning of the Administration to establish regulatory reform as a chief domestic policy priority. On January 30, 2017, the President issued Executive Order 13771—“Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs”—declaring that for every one new significant regulation issued, at least two prior regulations—sufficient to offset the incremental cost of the new regulation—be identified for elimination. On February 24, 2017, the President issued Executive Order 13777—“Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.” The order directs each agency to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer responsible for overseeing the implementation of the President’s regulatory reform agenda. At each agency, the Regulatory Reform Officer was instructed to convene a 3 See id. 2 Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations regarding their repeal, replacement, or modification. The President directed specific attention to regulations that: eliminate jobs or inhibit job creation; are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective; impose costs that exceed benefits; or create serious