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R egulatory reform has been a subject of frequent discussion in the last decade, especially in the context of presidential efforts to assert control over the rulemaking process. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan have all attempted to increase presidential authority over regulation. In particular, President Reagan has issued two executive orders that give the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considerable power over the rulemaking activities of executive agencies.

In this article, we set forth our views on the role of presidential supervision in the regulatory process, with particular attention to the questions raised by the recent executive orders. These executive orders address problems to which the American Bar Association (ABA) has spoken most recently in the Report of the Commission on Law and the Economy, Federal Regulation: Roads to Reform.'Recommendations 3 and 4 of the Commission were …