U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Policy 


Washington, D.C. 20210 


Information 

MEMORANDUM FOR EDWARD C. BUGLER 


Acting Secretary of Labor 

FROM: Stephanie 

Deputy Assistant 

Swirsk~ 

Secretary for Policy 

Laura 

Director, 

Dawkins Office ~ 

of Regulatory and Programmatic Policy 

DATE: March 9, 2017 

Subject: Implementation of Executive Order, "Enforcing the Regulatory 

Reform Agenda" 

Background 

On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed the attached Executive Order entitled, "Enforcing 

the Regulatory Reform Agenda" (Executive Order). Among other things, the order directs every 

Federal agency to appoint a Regulatory Refonn Officer and to establish a Regulatory Reform 

Task Force. It also requires the task force to provide a report to the agency head detailing the 

progress in appointing a Regulatory Reform Officer and identifying regulations for repeal, 

replacement, or modification. This memo lays out a proposed path forward for implementing this 

Executive Order. 

Appointment of a Regulatory Reform Officer 

The Executive Order mandates the appointment ofa Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO) within 

sixty (60) days of the date of the order (i.e., by April 25, 20) 7). Each RRO is tasked with 

overseeing the implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies, and keeping agency 

leadership apprised of such activities. Because the Executive Order does not specify whether the 

RRO is intended to be a political appointee or a career employee, the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Policy (OASP) recommends that the RRO be the Director ofthe Office of 

Regulatory and Programmatic Policy (ORPP) within OASP until political leadership is in place 

and can otherwise designate an RRO, ifso desired. This will ensure that the sixty day deadline 

for appointing an RRO is met, and that progress toward implementing the entire Executive Order 

begins immediately. 
Creation of a Regulatory Reform Task Force 

The Executive Order also directs agencies to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF) 

that is composed of: (I) the agency RRO (who chairs the task force); (2) the agency Regulatory 

Policy Officer designated under Executive Order 12866; (3) a representative from the agency's 

central policy office or equivalent central office; and (4) at least three additional senior agency 

officials as determined by the agency head. The RRTF is tasked with evaluating existing 

regulations and making recommendations to the agency head regarding their repeal, replacement, 

or modification. The RRTF must seek input and assistance from entities affected by Federal 

regulations, including, State, local, and tribal governments, small businesses, consumers, nongovernmental organizations, and trade associations. Regulations identified as outdated, 

unnecessary, or ineffective are to be given priority for repeal, replacement, or modification. The 

Executive Order specifies that agencies must incorporate in their annual performance plans 

performance indicators that measure their progress in implementing the Executive Order; the 

Otlice ofManagement and Budget (OMB) will issue guidance regarding implementation by 

April 25, 2017. 

OASP recommends that the RRTF be composed of the following (or their designee): 

(I) RRO (Director, ORPP); 

(2) Deputy Secretary or designee; 

(3) Regulatory Policy Officer (Assistant Secretary for Policy); 

(4) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy; 

(5) Assistant Administrator of Policy, WHD; 

(6) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, EBSA; 

(7) Director of Standards and Guidance, OSHA; 

(8) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, MSHA; 

(9) Deputy Solicitor for National Operations; and 

(10) Director, Performance Management Center, OASAM 

Implementation 

Within the next thirty days, OASP will convene meetings ofthe RRTF to discuss the path 

forward to ensure compliance with the ninety day reporting requirement The task force will, 

among other things, review the current Department's Retrospective Review Plan, develop an 

approach and structure for public outreach, including leveraging the robust stakeholder meetings 

each ofthe RRTF agencies conduct with their stakeholders. The task force will also engage the 

Performance Management Center to develop perfonnance indicators for use in assessing the 

performance of the RRTF. Below is a timeline with relevant milestones. After issuance of the 

initial report, OASP recommends reporting on the task force's progress semi-annually to 

Departmental leadership, to coincide with the issuance of the Unified Regulatory Agenda. 

Aotion. t Date 

Executive Order signed 2/24/2017 

Initial Task Force Meeting NLT 3/24/2017 

Regulatory Refonn Officer aooointed NLT 4/25/2017 (oer EO) 

Task Force Meetings Weeks of3/27- 5/l/2017 
Draft Initial Reoort Weeks of 5/8 ­ 5/15/2017 

Clearance ofinitial RePort 5/15 - 5/24/2017 

Initial Report to A2encv Head Due 5/25/2017 (oer EO) 

For additional infonnation regarding the Executive Order or this memorandum or ifyou would 

n the Executive Order or this memorandum. please contact Stephanie Swirsky (b )(6) or Lawa Dawkins . 

Attachment 

cc: 

Tim Hauser 

Mary Ziegler 

Sheila McConnell 

Susan Harthill 

Dennis Johnson