FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013  

Megan Kindelan
Communications Director
202.480.2091
mkindelan@acus.gov

What:

The 58th Plenary Session of the Administrative Conference of the United States will be held next week.  During the session, Conference Chairman Paul R. Verkuil and the Conference Assembly will consider and vote on four recommendations:

  1. Improving Consistency in Social Security Disability Adjudications:  This recommendation identifies ways to improve the adjudication of Social Security disability claims before administrative law judges and the Appeals Council, and suggests changes to the evaluation of opinion evidence from medical professionals.
  2. Benefit-Cost Analysis at Independent Regulatory Agencies: This recommendation highlights a series of best practices directed at independent regulatory agencies in the preparation of benefit-cost analyses that accompany proposed and final rules. 
  3. Science in the Administrative Process:  This recommendation offers several proposals to promote transparency in agencies’ scientific decision-making, including: articulation of questions to be informed by science information; attribution for agency personnel who contributed to scientific analyses; public access to underlying data and literature; and conflict of interest disclosures for privately funded research used by the agencies in licensing, rulemaking, or other administrative processes.
  4. The Administrative Record in Informal Rulemaking: This recommendation offers best practices for agencies in the compilation, preservation, and certification of records in informal rulemaking, and supports the judicial presumption of regularity for agency administrative records except in certain limited circumstances.

Twice a year, the full membership of the Administrative Conference meets in plenary session and debates and votes on recommendations received from Conference committees.

When:

June 13-14, 2013

  • Thursday, June 13:  2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  • Friday, June 14:      9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Agenda
Where:

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Main Conference Room

Webcast:

There will be a live webcast of the Plenary Session, accessible at http://acus.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2.

Please RSVP by 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, to Megan Kindelan at 202.480.2091 or mkindelan@acus.gov. 

About ACUS

The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures.  Its membership is composed of innovative federal officials and experts with diverse views and backgrounds from both the private sector and academia. 

The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public as well as making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws.  Learn more at www.acus.gov. 

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