Handmaidens of the legislature? Understanding regulatory timing

When does legislation trigger regulation? The US Congress regularly passes laws that authorise government agencies to write legally binding regulations. Yet, when this occurs, agencies may take years to act – or, at times – may never act at all. We theorise that the breadth of the congressional statutory delegation drives the timing of agency policy production. In particular, when Congress expressly tells an agency to promulgate a rule, we expect agencies to do so quickly. Yet, when Congress provides greater policymaking discretion to agencies, we expect other factors – and especially, internal agency considerations – to drive regulatory timing. We use data from almost 350 statutes spanning four decades, which are then matched up with thousands of regulations, to assess the argument. Using innovative methods, we find support for our hypotheses. Overall, we produce a deeper understanding of the link between delegation and discretion: suggesting when it occurs, as well as, importantly, why.

Getting a Grip on Research Data Management

In March 2021 the Tri-Agency released its Research Data Management Policy, including its three pillar requirements. This article reviews some key points from the Alliance RDM (Portage Network) workshop "Putting the Tri-Agency Policy into Practice: Workshopping Your Institutional Research Data Management Strategy."

Measurement of Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance with EVOM2 and EndOhm Cup

Trans-epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) can be used as a measure of cell monolayer confluence, health, and integrity. An EndOhm chamber connected to an Epithelial Voltohmmeter (EVOM) may be used to take TEER measurements that are more reproducible than the chopsticks electrode. This method details how to take TEER readings using an EndOhm-12 chamber and EVOM2 resistance reader. Read the manufacturer’s manual carefully before adjusting any of the parameters below as the conditions described here were determined to meet the manufacturer’s specifications. Volumes will need to be adjusted to accommodate substitution of the EndOhm-6 or EndOhm-24.Disclaimer: The contents of this article have been reviewed by the US Environmental Protection Agency and approved for publication and do not necessarily represent Agency policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendations for use.

Culture of Primary Human Tracheobronchial Epithelial Cells

This protocol is intended for culture of primary human tracheobronchial epithelial cells (pHBEC) obtained by brush biopsy during clinical bronchoscopy, or purchased commercially, using Lonza-based medium.Note: This is a historical protocol. At the time of publication, this protocol has been superseded by a different version in the McCullough lab; however, it is being published to support the transparency and reproducibility of other studies by which it is referenced.Disclaimer: The information presented here has been reviewed and approved for publication by the US Environmental Protection Agency do not necessarily represent Agency policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendations for use.

An Overview of the United States Administrative Procedure Act

For almost seventy-five years, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in the United States has set a procedural framework within which most federal administrative agencies must act. The APA lays out procedures that federal actors must follow in fashioning rules and in resolving adjudications, as well as the standards of review that federal courts must use when reviewing the agencies’ resolution of those adjudications and promulgation of rules. As a consequence the APA has been remarkably effective in ensuring that agency decisionmaking is responsive to public concerns and that the public has an outlet for voicing those concerns. Nonetheless, some of the exceptions carved out by Congress in the APA have created problematic gaps, failing to protect the regulated public adequately, particularly from agency policy statements and interpretations of statutes and regulations, which private firms and individuals cannot challenge directly but may affect their livelihoods.