U.S. Senate confirms Paul Ray as head of federal regulatory review agency


The United States Senate on January 9 voted 50-44 to confirm Paul Ray as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

OIRA is a federal agency located within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that reviews regulations, approves government information requests, and provides oversight of statistical and privacy policies. OIRA gives presidents the ability to monitor agency rulemaking.

50 Republicans voted to confirm Ray, while 43 Democrats and Independent Angus King (Maine) voted nay. Six senators did not vote: Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jerry Moran (R.-Kan.), David Perdue (R-Ga.) Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Click here to learn more about OIRA.

Click here to learn more about OMB.

Additional reading:
Presidential Executive Order 12866
Regulatory review
Regulatory impact analysis

Click here to view the roll call vote: