President Obama's nominee for second in command of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pledged to create an orderly and more streamlined government.

In a hearing on Monday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Brian Deese promised that a priority of the OMB "has got to be making our government more efficient and more effective and showing the American people how we can do more effectively with less."

In a hearing that focused largely on deficit reduction and the federal budget, Deese characterized himself as a practical team player committed to accountability and high performance standards. He answered questions on improper payments and duplicative efforts of the federal government.

The Obama administration wants to do more studies about the impact that genetically engineered crops have on the environment.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will prepare environmental impact statements to "better inform decision-making" about corn, soybean and cotton crops genetically engineered to resist two herbicide varieties.

The USDA's office of animal and plant inspections believes the regulation "may significantly affect the quality of the human environment," and is preparing the statements to determine whether the crops affect the natural world. It claimed on Friday that the statements will "further assist the Agency in evaluating any potential environmental impacts before we make a final determination regarding the products' regulatory status."

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Congressional Republicans are ratcheting up pressure on the new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to finally implement the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act.

In a letter sent Monday to SEC Chairman Mary Jo White, four high-ranking GOP lawmakers said it was high time for regulators to implement the legislation, aimed at making it easier for small companies to raise capital. During her confirmation hearing in March, White vowed that getting the law in place would be a top priority if approved by the Senate. Now on the job for a little more than a month, the members reminded her of her commitment.

"We were encouraged by the commitment that you demonstrated during your confirmation process to see that the Commission completes these important rulemakings and hope that you will take steps to do so expeditiously," they wrote.

The Obama administration is extending rules that allow the government to set the salaries and severance packages for executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Treasury Department's criminal enforcement agency is withdrawing a clarification to a proposed rule that will require financial institutions to report information about international wire transfers, including the senders' and receivers' Social Security numbers.

The original proposal, which is still pending at the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was designed to target money laundering by drug cartels and terrorist groups by requiring institutions to provide a record of wire transfers and taxpayer identification numbers, which are often Social Security numbers, for all foreign monetary transmissions.

The supplement was designed to "clarify some aspects" of the proposal, and was under review by the White House when the FinCEN withdrew it on Friday, according to agency spokesman Steve Hudak.

"It doesn't indicate a change in policy or a cancellation of any program," he added.

Currently, institutions need only to keep records of wire transfers of more than $3,000, and only report them if asked by the FinCEN.

Agencies will announce a series of meetings throughout the summer in Tuesday's Federal Register. Here they are:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is meeting on May 16 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discuss a number of new and proposed rules. 

New rules will be published in Tuesday's Federal Register on immigration, agriculture, housing issues and more. Here's what to expect:

Immigration:
The Department of Justice is creating an electronic database of attorneys who practice before immigration courts. 

An Affordable Care Act tax on health insurance providers “scares the daylights” out of some small-business owners, The Washington Post reports.

Some states are also lining up in opposition to the health insurance providers fee, according to The Hill's RegWatch. Read more...

The Obama administration’s historic overhaul of Cold War-era export controls should go even further to lighten the burden on companies who sell there wares overseas, a coalition of business groups said.

The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, a group of 18 trade associations, said a massive regulatory undertaking now under way “should not be the final step” toward loosening the flow of items deemed sensitive under outdated rules.

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