Alex Mechanick

How to fix the Paperwork Reduction Act - Niskanen Center This paper explains how we ended up with a statute that perversely undermines its purposes, what goes wrong (and right) in the status quo, and how to design a better Paperwork Reduction Act.

If you've made it this far, you'll probably enjoy the whole piece: niskanencenter.org/how-to-fix-t.... Questions? Email me: amechanick [at] niskanencenter [dot] org. 9/9

This is better than blunter reforms, like PRA repeal or raising the "persons" threshold. Presidents need visibility into information collections (just like spending & regulations). The PRA has virtues that the inevitable PRA replacement executive order likely wouldn't. 8/9

Here's the fix: Replace notice and comment with more useful public input. Streamline and eliminate reviews. That allows OMB and agencies to focus on high-impact reviews, and do reviews fast (5-10 days). The result: less unnecessary paperwork *and* agencies that get more done. 7/9

But OMB review can be valuable, especially for stopping duplicative collections, coordinating across agencies, improving regulations (see pic), and ensuring that the White House has visibility into collections (like spending/regs). We don't want to lose that entirely. 6/9

After an information collection is developed, it takes 9 more months *on average* to get into the field. Despite two public comment periods, more than 90% get no comments (delay for no benefit!). The result? Agencies collect less info, get less done, and make worse decisions. 5/9

But the law that Congress enacted, and amended in 1995, is an overly-procedural mess. Agencies are forced to jump through unnecessary hoops. And OMB's attempts to make the PRA more flexible have had only limited effect, highlighting the PRA's flaws. 4/9

In the 1970s, Congress *abolished* OMB review of many agencies' information collections. Did it work? No. Both Democrats and Republicans hated the new system, and within a few years, they enacted the PRA to impose more order. 3/9

The PRA started as a New Deal effort to boost efficiency and push back on myopic/captured agencies by having OMB review information collections. (The same concerns previously led to OMB review of agency spending, and later led to OMB review of agency regulations). 2/9

The Paperwork Reduction Act is broken. Some say scrap it—but we've tried something like that before, and it backfired. The good news? There's a better solution. In my new paper, I explain how we can fix the PRA. 🧵1/9

This is the best discussion of the current political environment that I've read - *strongly* encourage a read.

For me, the critical takeaway: "I think it’s important to resist nihilism ... what people care about and trust us on really is responsive to concrete events that happen in the world."

Administrator Zeldin has announced that EPA analyses will now ignore how pollution makes natural disasters worse.

The Trump Administration's rejection of rigorous and complete cost-benefit analysis is shameful. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/c...

Excellent piece by @zliscow.bsky.social! Two points I'll pull out:
1) "the paperwork to submit a bid for a basic repaving project is often hundreds of pages long, making it hard to enter the market"
2) policy should be countercyclical: spend quickly in busts (recessions at ZLB), but slowly in booms

A great piece on Governor Shapiro's success speeding PA permit approvals by @donmoyn.bsky.social.

Highlighting something I saw in government too: usually, career staff already know fixes. Change requires political leadership who prioritize and enable reform. responsivegov.org/wp-content/u...