The Spring Regulatory Agenda

By Sam Berger, Senior Counselor to the Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

The Biden Administration is leveraging every available tool to advance the President’s ambitious agenda for the country and deliver results for the American people. Thanks to the President’s economic and vaccination strategy, our economy has added 8.7 million jobs, the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%, and the deficit is on track to fall by more than $1.5 trillion this year—the largest nominal decline in the federal deficit in American history. And through smart regulatory actions we’ve taken since the President took office, we’ve been able to advance a range of critical national priorities—from tackling the climate crisis and combating COVID-19, to advancing equity and ensuring our economy grows from the bottom up and middle out. 

Today, we’re releasing a Spring Regulatory Agenda that details additional actions Federal agencies are considering to help build on this progress over the coming months. We’ve included actions consistent with priorities outlined in the President’s executive orders and in last year’s spring and fall regulatory agendas.  

Actions that agencies are considering as part of today’s announcement include:

• The Department of Health and Human Services is considering regulatory action to better prevent disability discrimination in critical health and human services programs, including organ transplantation, life-sustaining care, and child welfare programs.

• The Department of Justice is considering regulatory changes that would better support certain medical providers prescribing medications for treatment of opioid use disorder to patients through audio-only telemedicine visits

• The Environmental Protection Agency is considering steps to continue implementation of the bipartisan, job-creating American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 by setting the framework to further phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—potent greenhouse gases that have an impact on warming our climate that is hundreds to thousands of times greater than the same amount of carbon dioxide—in the year 2024 and beyond.

• The Department of Energy is considering actions that would save consumers energy, water, and money by continuing to implement its program of efficiency standards for appliances ranging from refrigerators and furnaces to clothes washers and distributive transformers. Over the years, this highly effective program has cumulatively saved consumers over $1 trillion on their utility bills while achieving substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful pollution.

As agencies consider the regulatory actions outlined in this Agenda, we look forward to continued engagement with Congress, the public, and other stakeholders around how best to continue delivering results for the American people and build a better America.