USDA Seeks Comments on Its Plan to Review Existing Regulations

Comments Sought on How to Reduce Reporting Burden for USDA Programs

USDA is reviewing its existing regulations to evaluate their continued effectiveness in addressing the circumstances for which they were promulgated. The focus of USDA’s initial review is to identify areas where it can simplify and reduce the reporting burden on the public for entry and access to USDA programs, while simultaneously reducing its administrative and operating costs by sharing similar data across participating agencies.

As part of this retrospective review of regulations, and as USDA develops a preliminary plan to periodically review the regulatory programs, USDA is seeking public comment on how best to remove obstacles created by current regulations and ways to improve them to help USDA agencies advance the mission of the Department.

Review to Focus on Four USDA Agencies

USDA is contemplating focusing its initial retrospective review, and is particularly interested in public comments, on the following four specific agencies in which USDA has identified potential issues:

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS): The FSIS is considering a review of its regulations to identify potential improvements in information collection procedures to increase the quality of data available to inform and support regulatory decision making. FSIS is also considering potential means to decrease the record keeping burden on industry, by possibly reducing label submission requirements. In addition, FSIS is also considering how its new Public Health Information System could potentially be used to share data and reduce data reporting requirements.

Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS): FFAS is interested in comments on: (1) how best to simplify and standardize acreage reporting processes, program dates, and data definitions across the various USDA programs and agencies; and on (2) how best to develop procedures, processes, and standards to allow producers to use information from their farm-management and precision-agriculture systems for reporting key information needed to participate in USDA programs. These changes may allow for program data that is common across agencies to be collected once and utilized or redistributed to agency programs in which the producer chooses to participate. It also may provide a single Web site for producers to report commodity information.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): The NRCS is considering a review of its regulations to improve the processes that deliver technical and financial assistance to program users. NRCS welcomes comments on approaches that will allow NRCS to enhance its delivery of technical assistance and streamline the application process and participation in financial assistance programs. NRCS is specifically interested in comments on such approaches as allowing customers to apply for programs or services online 24/7, reducing the number of office visits required through the use of mobile technologies, accelerating payments to clients after a practice is applied, and simplifying conservation plan documents.

Rural Development (RD): RD is considering a review of its regulations to determine whether certain application procedures can be streamlined to reflect the size and risk of certain types of loans and grants, including required audits, paperwork, and forms, and other ways to reduce excessive burdens.

USDA Seeks Answers to Specific Questions to Develop Preliminary Plan

USDA provides the following list of questions to assist in the formulation of comments. USDA notes that the list is not exhaustive and is not intended to limit the issues that commenters may choose to address. Although USDA is contemplating on focusing its initial review on the four areas identified above, it welcomes public comments on any USDA regulations and ways to improve them. USDA encourages the public to comment on those rules that have been in effect for a sufficient amount of time to warrant meaningful evaluation.

(1) Are there regulations or reporting requirements that have become outdated and, if so, how can they be modernized to accomplish their regulatory objectives better?

(2) Do agencies currently collect information that they do not need or use effectively to achieve regulatory objectives?

(3) Is there information that agencies should begin collecting to achieve regulatory objectives?

(4) Are there regulations, reporting requirements, or regulatory submission or application processes that are unnecessarily complicated, or that could be streamlined to achieve regulatory objectives in ways that are more efficient?

(5) Are there regulations, submission and application processes, or reporting requirements that have been overtaken by technological developments? Can new technologies be used to modify, streamline, or do away with existing regulatory or reporting requirements?

¹EO 13563 directs each federal agency to develop a preliminary plan, consistent with law and its resources and regulatory priorities, under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded or repealed to make the agency’s regulatory program more effective and or less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 01/19/11 news, 11011915, for BP summary.)

USDA Contact -- Julie Hetrick (202) 720-1269