Susan Dudley
Encyclopedia
Susan E. Dudley is an American academic who served as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA), Office of Management and Budget in the administration of George W. Bush
. As such, Dudley was the top regulatory official at the White House
.
, USA. Dudley is married to Brian F. Mannix, an economist who also was a political appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency
, serving as Associate Administrator for Policy, Economics, and Innovation from September 18, 2005, until January 20, 2009.
. In September 2009, she founded the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, which "raise[s] awareness of regulations’ effects and improve[s] regulatory policy through research, education, and outreach." In September 2010 Dudley was appointed as a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States
.
President Bush first nominated Dudley to serve as the OIRA Administrator on July 31, 2006. The Senate Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Ms. Dudley’s nomination on November 13, but did not hold a vote to confirm her. Bush re-nominated Dudley on January 9, 2007; appointed her to serve as a senior advisor at OIRA on January 30, 2007; and gave her a recess appointment as OIRA Administrator on April 4, 2007. On January 6, 2009, the recess appointment expired and Bush designated Dudley as Acting Administrator of OIRA until his term of office ended on January 20, 2009.
From 1998 through January 2007, Dudley worked at the non-profit Mercatus Center
at George Mason University, where she directed the Regulatory Studies Program from 2003 to 2006. As an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law from 2002 to 2006, she designed and taught courses on regulations and led regulatory clinics. Earlier in her career, Dudley served as a career civil servant, working as a policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency (1984-1985), an economist at OIRA (1985 – 1989), and an economist advisor at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(1989 - 1991). From 1991 until 1998, she was Vice President and Director of Environmental Analysis at Economists Incorporated, a consulting firm.
Dudley has authored more than 25 publications on regulatory matters, including e-rulemaking, electricity, health care, the environment, and occupational safety. She has served on the boards of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics—founded by Nobel Prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith
, and the National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation (now the NFIB Small Business Legal Center). She has also served as a member of several committees and boards in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the Virginia Environmental Education Advisory Committee (2000-2002), the Administrative Law Advisory Committee (2000-2003), and the Virginia Waste Management Board (1996-2001).
Dudley holds a Master of Science
degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management
(1981) and a Bachelor of Science
degree (summa cum laude) in Resource Economics
from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
(1977).
On July 11 2008, Dudley publicly objected to EPA's analysis of various ways to control greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
, and transmitted the objections of four cabinet members and four other agency heads. All of these objections were published along with EPA's analysis, which it prepared in response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gases. The act of an administration publishing a document and disavowing its own conclusions was described as an "extraordinary move" by the Wall Street Journal and "tortured policy" by the Washington Post. On April 17, 2009, the Obama administration took the next administrative step under the Clean Air Act by finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and the environment; however, it reaffirmed the Bush administration's position that legislative action by Congress would be far preferable.
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is an office of the United States Government that Congress established in the 1980 Paperwork Reduction Act. OIRA is located within the Office of Management and Budget, which is an agency within the Executive Office of the President...
(OIRA), Office of Management and Budget in the administration of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. As such, Dudley was the top regulatory official at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Early life
Dudley was born in MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA. Dudley is married to Brian F. Mannix, an economist who also was a political appointee at the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
, serving as Associate Administrator for Policy, Economics, and Innovation from September 18, 2005, until January 20, 2009.
Career
Currently, Dudley is a Research Professor at the George Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public AdministrationGeorge Washington University Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration is a graduate school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University. The Trachtenberg School offers Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Administration, and PhD degrees in Public Policy and...
. In September 2009, she founded the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, which "raise[s] awareness of regulations’ effects and improve[s] regulatory policy through research, education, and outreach." In September 2010 Dudley was appointed as a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States
Administrative Conference of the United States
The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent agency of the United States government established by the Administrative Conference Act of 1964. It is also considered to be a federal advisory committee...
.
President Bush first nominated Dudley to serve as the OIRA Administrator on July 31, 2006. The Senate Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Ms. Dudley’s nomination on November 13, but did not hold a vote to confirm her. Bush re-nominated Dudley on January 9, 2007; appointed her to serve as a senior advisor at OIRA on January 30, 2007; and gave her a recess appointment as OIRA Administrator on April 4, 2007. On January 6, 2009, the recess appointment expired and Bush designated Dudley as Acting Administrator of OIRA until his term of office ended on January 20, 2009.
From 1998 through January 2007, Dudley worked at the non-profit Mercatus Center
Mercatus Center
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University in the United States is a non-profit market-oriented research, education, and outreach think tank affiliated with the Koch family. It works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect academic learning and real-world practice...
at George Mason University, where she directed the Regulatory Studies Program from 2003 to 2006. As an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law from 2002 to 2006, she designed and taught courses on regulations and led regulatory clinics. Earlier in her career, Dudley served as a career civil servant, working as a policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency (1984-1985), an economist at OIRA (1985 – 1989), and an economist advisor at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....
(1989 - 1991). From 1991 until 1998, she was Vice President and Director of Environmental Analysis at Economists Incorporated, a consulting firm.
Dudley has authored more than 25 publications on regulatory matters, including e-rulemaking, electricity, health care, the environment, and occupational safety. She has served on the boards of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics—founded by Nobel Prize winning economist Vernon L. Smith
Vernon L. Smith
Vernon Lomax Smith is professor of economics at Chapman University's Argyros School of Business and Economics and School of Law in Orange, California, a research scholar at George Mason University Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science, and a Fellow of the Mercatus Center, all in Arlington,...
, and the National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation (now the NFIB Small Business Legal Center). She has also served as a member of several committees and boards in the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the Virginia Environmental Education Advisory Committee (2000-2002), the Administrative Law Advisory Committee (2000-2003), and the Virginia Waste Management Board (1996-2001).
Dudley holds a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
(1981) and a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree (summa cum laude) in Resource Economics
Natural resource economics
Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Click on image areas for more information.|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24...
from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
(1977).
Controversies
Dudley has been termed a conservative academic and her work at the Mercatus ("Market," in Latin) Center generally promoted market solutions over government regulation. She argued, for example, that consumers should be able to choose the efficiency of their household appliances, rather than have the government set energy efficiency standards. She also famously argued against an EPA effort to reduce surface ozone stating that smog-free skies would lead to significantly greater cases of skin cancer.On July 11 2008, Dudley publicly objected to EPA's analysis of various ways to control greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
, and transmitted the objections of four cabinet members and four other agency heads. All of these objections were published along with EPA's analysis, which it prepared in response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gases. The act of an administration publishing a document and disavowing its own conclusions was described as an "extraordinary move" by the Wall Street Journal and "tortured policy" by the Washington Post. On April 17, 2009, the Obama administration took the next administrative step under the Clean Air Act by finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and the environment; however, it reaffirmed the Bush administration's position that legislative action by Congress would be far preferable.
External links
- George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center.
- Public Citizen and OMB Watch report on Dudley background and nomination: "The Cost Is Too High: How Susan Dudley Threatens Public Protections"
- White House Fact Sheet on Dudley
- Letter of congratulations to Dudley from the National Association of Manufacturers
- The Dudley-Mannix household's donation of $1,000.00 to Bush-Cheney '04 at fundrace.org
- James L. Gattuso, Who Will Regulate the Regulators? The Battle Over Susan Dudley and OIRA, Heritage Foundation Webmemo #1250, Nov. 9, 2006.
- EPA Notice on Greenhouse Gases, including Dudley's objections. (5.8MB pdf)
- [ Supreme Court ruling 05-1120]