House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas says it’s important to have transparent economic analysis in federal rulemaking.
A case in point is the proposed GIPSA (Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) rule on livestock marketing.
A year has passed since a group of lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting a public report on the costs and benefits of the proposed rule, Lucas recalls.
Last week, Cass Sunstein, the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, agreed that public analysis is important.
In his Ag Minute radio address Tuesday, Lucas said when he joined 114 members of Congress in requesting the cost-benefit analysis, the request was denied.
“A year later, one administration official has finally conceded that a cost-benefit analysis of this rule for public comment is the right thing to do,” Lucas says.
“I’m glad that someone in the administration has seen reason. But, until they complete a cost-benefit analysis and release it for public evaluation, they should not move forward.
“With a struggling economy, the last thing we need is ill-considered government regulations that could wind up hurting the very producers they intend to help,” Lucas says.