Political Control and the Forms of Agency Independence

Professors David E. Lewis and Jennifer L. Selin · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1487 · The legitimacy of the federal executive establishment’s administrative policies hinges on the ability of democratically elected officials to hold federal agencies accountable. While both the President and Congress have a variety of tools they can employ to enhance control over the...
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The REINS Act: Unbridled Impediment to Regulation

Professor Ronald M. Levin · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1446 · The Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act (“REINS Act”) is a legislative proposal that would greatly increase congressional control over administrative agency rulemaking. Under the bill, no “major rule” (a rule with a large economic impact) could go into effect unless Congress...
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An Informal Legislative History of the Reauthorization of the Administrative Conference of the United States

Susan Jensen · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1410 · The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent, nonpartisan federal agency established by Congress in 1964. Although it technically marked its fiftieth anniversary last year, for fifteen of those years it was not in existence. Drawing on the author’s personal experience as a congressional staffer,...
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The Problem with Words: Plain Language and Public Participation in Rulemaking

Professor Cynthia R. Farina, Professor Mary HJ. Newhart, and CeRI e-Government Fellow Cheryl Blake · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1358 · This Article, part of the special issue commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Administrative Conference of the United States (“ACUS”), situates ACUS’s recommendations for improving public rulemaking participation in the context of the federal “plain...
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James Landis and the Dilemmas of Administrative Government

Associate Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1330 · In the late 1930s, the administrative state was becoming an increasingly important component of American national government as the country recovered from the Depression and emerged as a preeminent geopolitical power. Amidst these changes, James Landis had a distinctive perspective borne from his experience as...
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Vive la Deference?: Rethinking the Balance Between Administrative and Judicial Discretion

Dean Emeritus Ronald A. Cass · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1294 · America’s constitutional structure relies on checks and balances to prevent a concentration of excessive discretionary power in the hands of any individual governmental official or body, promoting effective government while protecting individual liberty and state sovereignty. Federal courts have been sensitive to threats to...
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Public Participation and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Research Chief Reeve T. Bull · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1262 · In the last several years, regulators in major industrialized states have increasingly focused on achieving greater integration between international regulatory regimes and eliminating unnecessary regulatory divergences that create barriers to trade. So-called international regulatory cooperation, which the Administrative Conference of the United States first...
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ACUS—And Administrative Law—Then and Now

Professor Michael Herz · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1217 · The Administrative Conference of the United States (“ACUS”) both shapes and reflects the intellectual, policy, and practical concerns of the field of administrative law. Its recommendations are therefore a useful lens through which to view that field. Also, because of an unfortunate hiatus, ACUS has gotten...
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Reflections on the Administrative Conference

Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Stephen G. Breyer · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1205 · Testimony Before Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Committee (2010). Just over five years ago we testified together before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee to comment on the Administrative Conference of the United States...
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Opinions on ACUS: The Administrative Conference’s Influence on Appellate Administrative Jurisprudence

Stephanie J. Tatham · 83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1186 · The Administrative Conference of the United States (“ACUS” or the “Conference”) has been charged by Congress with studying “the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the administrative procedure used by administrative agencies in carrying out administrative programs,” as well as with making related “recommendations to administrative agencies,...
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