Obama’s regulatory czar to testify before Senate panel

The White House’s regulatory chief will appear before a Senate panel next week, as lawmakers take up consideration of proposals to reform the federal rule-making system.

Howard Shelanski, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is slated to testify Tuesday at a hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal programs.

The hearing will focus on “reforms to improve rulemaking, promote transparency, and enhance government accountability,” according to Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who lead the panel.

The regulatory process has been a favorite punching bag of House Republicans, who have introduced several bills meant to tamp down on agencies’ rule-making authority. The Senate has devoted less attention to the system.

Shelanski was confirmed last summer as OIRA’s administrator but has kept a lower public profile than his predecessor, Cass Sunstein.