[The Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[Statement by the Vice President and Introduction to the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



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Part II





Regulatory Information Service Center





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Statement by the Vice President

Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal 
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Agency Regulatory Plans


                          The Regulatory Plan 


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                Statement by the Vice President

                The publication of this sixth Regulatory Plan is a 
                great time to assess this Administration's progress in 
                meeting its commitment to provide the American people 
                with a regulatory system that works for them.

                Since the first Regulatory Plan, published in 1994, 
                we've learned a lot about how to go about the business 
                of regulating. Initially, the reform effort focused on 
                the regulatory process itself, with Executive Order No. 
                12866 serving as the foundation. At that time, we 
                pointed to several early indications of progress based 
                on the planning principles contained in the Executive 
                order.

                The next year, we moved from process to content with a 
                Governmentwide call for reinvention of regulations. We 
                challenged agencies to eliminate or reinvent existing 
                regulations and paperwork requirements to reduce the 
                burden on the American public while retaining the 
                intended benefits. The 1995 Regulatory Plan contained a 
                number of illustrations of regulatory programs that 
                agencies critically reviewed and changed as a result of 
                this challenge.

                In 1996, the dominant theme in regulatory reform was 
                the use of emerging technology to improve public access 
                to regulatory information. Federal agencies were in the 
                forefront in reengineering their regulatory processes 
                to take advantage of the revolution in information 
                technology, and the 1996 Regulatory Plan reported many 
                of the innovations and changes agencies instituted.

                In the past two years, the Regulatory Plans included 
                many regulations developed using the regulatory 
                philosophy and principles of Executive Order No. 12866. 
                Agencies were working hard to instill its planning 
                principles into their ongoing rulemaking operations. By 
                streamlining regulations, considering a range of 
                alternatives, increasing outreach, and using plain 
                language, Federal agencies are adopting a new approach 
                to regulating.

                Executive Order No. 12866 laid a foundation for real 
                change in the way we regulate. In addition, we've 
                learned a great deal in the past 6 years. We now know 
                that:

1. We need to do a better job communicating and involving stakeholders in 
the regulatory process;

2. We need to do more to help the regulated community to comply;

3. By using information effectively, we can better target our enforcement 
efforts at the most serious challenges; and

4. We always need to keep focused on the results that Americans care about, 
like clean air and safe food, instead of how many tickets we're writing.

                In the 1999 Regulatory Plan, we are seeing more 
                evidence we're changing the way we regulate. But we 
                still have a long way to go. The challenge ahead is to 
                sustain this momentum and not become complacent with 
                the progress we have made to date. You can be an active 
                participant in this process by using The Regulatory 
                Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal

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                Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and registering 
                your opinions with the regulatory agencies. We 
                encourage you to do so.

                    (Vice Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc 99-30345
Filed 11-19-99 8:45 am]
Billing Code 3110-01-F