[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32649-32650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14920]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 135 / Monday, July 17, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 32649]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

7 CFR Subtitles A and B

9 CFR Chapters I, II, and III


Identifying Regulatory Reform Initiatives

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Executive Order 13777--Enforcing the Regulatory 
Reform Agenda, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting 
ideas from the public on how we can provide better customer service and 
remove unintended barriers to participation in our programs in ways 
that least interfere with our customers and allow us to accomplish our 
mission. To do this, we are specifically asking for public ideas on 
regulations, guidance documents, or any other policy documents that are 
in need of reform, for example ideas to modify, streamline, expand, or 
repeal those items.

DATES: Comments and information are requested on or before July 17, 
2018. USDA will review comments in four batches over a one-year period. 
The cut-off period for comments to be reviewed as part of the first 
batch is September 15, 2017. The cut-off period for comments to be 
reviewed as part of the second batch is November 14, 2017. The cut-off 
periods for the third and fourth batches are February 12, 2018, and 
July 17, 2018, respectively.

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this notice. For proper 
delivery, in your comment, specify ``Identifying Regulatory Reform 
Initiatives.''
     Electronic Submission of Comments. You may submit comments 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. USDA strongly encourages commenters to submit 
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows you 
maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, and ensures timely 
receipt by USDA. Follow the instructions provided on that site to 
submit comments electronically.
     Submission of Comments by Mail, Hand delivery, or Courier. 
Paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
[email protected], Office of Budget and Program Analysis, USDA, 
Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 101-A, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., 
Washington, DC 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Poe, Telephone Number: (202) 
720-5303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

A. USDA's Regulatory Mission

    USDA is committed to creating a culture of consistent, efficient 
service to our customers while easing regulatory burdens to make it 
easier to invest, produce, and build in rural America in a way that 
creates jobs and economic prosperity while ensuring the safety of our 
food supply, and protecting and safeguarding our land, water, and other 
natural resources for future generations.

B. The Regulatory Reform Agenda and Executive Order 13777

    On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 
13777--Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, which established a 
federal policy to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens on the 
American people. Section 3(a) of the E.O. directs federal agencies to 
establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force (Task Force). One of the 
duties of the Task Force is to evaluate existing regulations and make 
recommendations to the USDA Secretary regarding their repeal, 
replacement, or modification. The E.O. further asks that each Task 
Force attempt to identify regulations that:
    (i) Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation;
    (ii) Are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
    (iii) Impose costs that exceed benefits;
    (iv) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with 
regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
    (v) Are inconsistent with the requirements of section 515 of the 
Treasury and General Government Appropriates Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516 
note), or the guidance issued pursuant to that provision in particular 
those regulations that rely in whole or in part on data, information, 
or methods that are not publicly available or that are insufficiently 
transparent to meet the standard of reproducibility; or
    (vi) Derive from or implement Executive Orders or other 
Presidential directives that have been subsequently rescinded or 
substantially modified.

II. USDA's Implementation of Executive Order 13777

    Section 3(e) of the E.O. calls on the Task Force to seek input and 
other assistance, as permitted by law, from entities significantly 
affected by Federal regulations, including State, local, and tribal 
governments, small businesses, consumers, non-governmental 
organizations, and trade associations on regulations that meet some or 
all of the criteria above. Through this notice, USDA is requesting 
ideas from the public to help its Task Force's evaluation of existing 
regulations. USDA requests that commenters be as specific as possible, 
include any supporting data or other information such as cost 
information, provide a Federal Register (FR) or Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) citation when referencing a regulation or directive, 
the OMB control number for information collections and recordkeeping 
burdens approved under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3522), and specific suggestions regarding the repeal, replacement 
or modification of these items.
    In evaluating USDA's regulations, guidance documents, or any other 
policy documents that are in need of reform as well as new ideas to 
modify, streamline, expand, or repeal such items, commenters are asked 
to consider the questions outlined below. Note this is not an 
exhaustive list nor is it intended to limit the issues that commenters 
may address, but rather it is meant to assist in the formulation of 
comments.
    1. Are there any regulations that should be repealed, replaced, or 
modified?
    2. For each regulation identified in question number 1, please 
identify whether the regulation:
    (a) Results in the elimination of jobs, or inhibits job creation;
    (b) Is outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;

[[Page 32650]]

    (c) Imposes costs that exceed benefits;
    (d) Creates a serious inconsistency or otherwise interferes with 
regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
    (e) Is inconsistent with the requirements or regulations of section 
515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 (44 
U.S.C. 3516 note), which requires that agencies maximize the quality, 
objectivity, and integrity of the information (including statistical 
information) they disseminate; or
    (f) Derives from or implements Executive Orders or other 
Presidential directives that have been subsequently rescinded or 
substantially modified.
    3. Are there any existing USDA requirements that duplicate or 
conflict with requirements of another Federal agency? Can the 
requirement be modified to eliminate the conflict?
    4. What are the estimated total compliance costs of the USDA 
regulations to which you or your organization must comply? This should 
include the costs of complying with information collections, 
recordkeeping, and other requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.
    This notice is issued for information and program-planning 
purposes. While comments to this notice do not bind USDA to any further 
actions, all submissions will be reviewed by the Task Force, and made 
publicly available on http://www.regulations.gov. Although USDA will 
not respond to individual comments, USDA values public feedback and 
will give careful consideration to all input that it receives.
    USDA will keep the public apprised of the status of its review and 
any plans to repeal, replace, or modify existing regulations. The 
Department will issue a detailed update as part of the 2017 fall 
regulatory agenda and statement of regulatory priorities. Additionally, 
the public is encouraged to visit https://www.usda.gov/ for the latest 
information about the Department's regulatory reform efforts.

    Dated: July 11, 2017.
Rebeckah Adcock,
Regulatory Reform Officer and Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Office 
of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-14920 Filed 7-14-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-90-P