[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20912-20913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07362]



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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Request for Nominations of Experts to Peer-Review Draft Guidance 
on Conducting Analysis of Federal Regulations

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice; request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is drafting proposed 
revisions to its Circular A-4: Regulatory Analysis. This notice 
requests public nominations of experts to participate in an independent 
scientific peer review of an updated draft of Circular A-4: Regulatory 
Analysis.

DATES: The 21-day public comment period to provide nominations begins 
April 7, 2023, and ends April 28, 2023. Nominations must be received on 
or before April 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your nominations by emailing them to 
[email protected] (subject line: Peer Review 
Nomination for Updating Circular A-4) no later than April 28, 2023. To 
receive full consideration, nominations should include all of the 
information requested below. Please be advised that public comments, 
including communications on these nominations, are subject to release 
under the Freedom of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
[email protected] (subject line: Peer Review 
Nomination for Updating Circular A-4).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Privacy Act Statement

    Submission of nominations is voluntary. Solicitation of this 
information is authorized by 31 U.S.C. 1111. The information furnished 
will be used to select independent peer reviewers to evaluate proposed 
updates to Circular A-4. While the information solicited by this notice 
is intended to be used for internal purposes, in certain circumstances 
it may be necessary to disclose this information externally, for 
example to contractors, as necessary to perform their duties for the 
Federal government; to a congressional office in response to an inquiry 
from that congressional office made at the request of the individual to 
whom the record pertains; or to other agencies, courts, and persons as 
necessary and relevant in the course of litigation, and as necessary 
and in accordance with requirements for law enforcement. A complete 
list of the routine uses can be found in the system of records notice 
associated with this collection of information, OMB Public Input System 
of Records, OMB/INPUT/01.

I. Background

    Since 2003, OMB Circular A-4: Regulatory Analysis \1\ has provided 
guidance to Federal agencies on the development of regulatory analysis 
as required under Section 6(a)(3) of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 
(Regulatory Planning and Review),\2\ the Regulatory Right-to-Know 
Act,\3\ and a variety of related authorities. OMB is drafting proposed 
updates to the Circular, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DraftCircularA-4.pdf, as well as a preamble 
that offers further context for prospective public commenters and peer 
reviewers, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DraftCircularA-4Preamble.pdf; public comments on these materials is 
being solicited via a separate notice and, in addition, the proposed 
updates will be peer reviewed in accordance with OMB's Final 
Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review (the Bulletin) \4\ and the 
Regulatory Right-to-Know Act. The independent, external scientific peer 
review will be managed by an OMB contractor. This notice requests 
public nominations of experts to participate in the independent 
scientific peer review of the proposed updates to Circular A-4.
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    \1\ OMB, Circular A-4, Regulatory Analysis (Sept. 17, 2003), 
available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/circulars/A4/a-4.pdf.
    \2\ Exec. Order No. 12866, 58 FR 51735 (Oct. 4, 1993).
    \3\ Public Law 106-554, section 624, 114 Stat. 2763A-161 
(codified at 31 U.S.C. 1105 note).
    \4\ OMB, M-05-03, Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer 
Review (Dec. 16, 2004), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/legacy_drupal_files/omb/memoranda/2005/m05-03.pdf.
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II. Information About This Peer Review

    OMB is seeking nominations of individuals with demonstrated and 
nationally-recognized expertise in economics and various aspects of the 
disciplines of public policy and administrative law that relate to the 
application of benefit-cost analysis to regulatory policy. A balanced 
review panel should include experts who possess the necessary domains 
of knowledge and a breadth of economic and scientific perspectives to 
provide rigorous peer review.\5\ Consistent with the Bulletin, all 
nominations will be evaluated for real or perceived conflicts of 
interest and independence.
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    \5\ See id. at 24 (emphasizing ``that the term `balance' here 
refers not to balancing of stakeholder or political interests but 
rather to a broad and diverse representation of respected 
perspectives and intellectual traditions within the scientific 
community'').
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    To achieve the necessary breadth, OMB seeks nominees with expertise 
in the following areas:
    Primary fields:

 Applied microeconomics
 Macroeconomics
 Financial economics
 Industrial organization
 Public economics
 Welfare economics
 Risk management and risk assessment, including both policy and 
scientific expertise
 Regulatory process, including administrative law, as it 
intersects with regulatory and benefit-cost analysis

    Secondary fields and sub-fields of primary fields:

 Behavioral economics
 Qualitative methods for policy impact analysis
 Applied statistics and econometrics
 Environmental and natural resource economics
 Agricultural economics
 Transportation economics
 Labor economics
 International trade
 Economics of health and medicine

    To form the list of candidate external reviewers, nominations 
submitted in response to this notice will be considered along with 
candidates identified using traditional techniques (e.g., a literature 
search) to identify additional qualified candidates in the disciplines 
listed above. After consideration of public nominations, a final multi-
disciplinary panel of eight to ten peer reviewers will be selected from 
the pool. Selection criteria to be used for panel membership include: 
(a) distinguished and nationally-recognized technical expertise, as 
well as experience; (b) availability and willingness to serve; and (c) 
real or perceived conflicts of interest and independence.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any person or 
organization may nominate individuals qualified in the areas described 
above. Self-nominations are permitted. Submit your nominations by email 
to [email protected] (subject line: Peer Review 
Nomination for Updating Circular A-4).

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To receive full consideration, nominations should include all of the 
following information: contact information for the person making the 
nomination; the nominee's contact information and institutional 
affiliation; the nominee's disciplinary and specific areas of 
expertise; and the nominee's r[eacute]sum[eacute] or curriculum vitae 
or equivalent information about their current position, educational 
background, expertise, and experience. To assess conflicts of interest 
and independence for nominees being considered for the peer review, OMB 
will seek to identify, among other factors, professional affiliation 
with the Executive Office of the President within the last 3 years; 
current contracts with the Federal government to conduct regulatory 
impact analysis or other decision support analyses; and regular 
business streams to advocate for or critique regulatory impact analyses 
on behalf of non-federal entities.

Richard L. Revesz,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-07362 Filed 4-6-23; 4:15 pm]
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