The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 11 released a report recommending that Congress update and improve the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The DOJ argued that the APA framework fails to sufficiently manage modern regulation and falls short of promoting agency accountability, transparency, and public engagement.
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen told Reuters that the agency wants to work with Congress to revise the APA because the legislation “no longer reflects how the regulatory process actually works.”
The report, entitled “Modernizing the Administrative Procedure Act,” is based on proposals presented by regulatory professionals during the DOJ’s December 2019 summit on APA modernization. The report examines the development of administrative agencies over the 74 years since the passage of the APA, recommends legislative action to improve the APA, and considers takeaways from the Trump administration’s regulatory approach that could contribute to APA modernization, according to the DOJ.
Prior to 1946, no federal laws governed the general conduct of administrative agencies. The APA established uniform rulemaking procedures for federal agencies to propose and issue regulations, put forth procedures for issuing policy statements and licenses, and provide for judicial review of agency adjudications and other final decisions. The legislation remains largely unchanged today.
Additional reading:
Learn More
