When a federal agency proposes or announces a new regulation, it is published in the Federal Register, the official journal of the United States government. Most proposed regulations are subject to a public comment period.

 

Prepare Your Comment

  • Decide if you want your name associated with your comment. Comments can be submitted by individuals, as organizations, or anonymously.
  • Be thorough. The maximum length is 5,000 characters, and there is no required format. You should try to comment on multiple aspects of the proposed rule, and bring in as many different issues as possible.
  • Ground your comment in facts. Bring in as much applicable data as you can, and include your sources.
  • Make your stake clear. Clearly explain the direct impact the proposed action will have on you and/or your institution. Quantified impact data, even if approximate, is one of among the most difficult material for OMB to dismiss.
  • Include all of your concerns. Respond to why the agency is justifying the action.
  • Be specific and constructive. Provide critiques and suggestions that connect the proposed regulations to your own experience, and explain what you agree with and disagree with, and why. You can also include questions that ask for a response.
  • Clearly indicate the specific text in the regulation to which you are responding. Federal agencies must respond to “substantive” comments, but that is defined as comments responding to specific regulatory text. A comment that characterizes the rule’s effects without citing the provisions is easy to acknowledge and disregard.
  • Give OMB something to work with other than general objection. Propose some alternative rules that might accomplish some of their overarching goals, or the parts of their goals that you do not find objectionable.
  • Maintain a respectful tone, even if your comment expresses strong disagreement with the proposed regulation. Assume that anything you submit can be made publicly available.
  • Review the Comment Checklist to ensure your comments follow the guidelines.

Submit Your Comment

Comments are submitted to the Federal Register on Regulations.gov, which offers the following instructions on their Frequently Asked Questions page:

  • The “Comment” Button can be found when a Document is open for comment on the following pages:
    • “Docket” Page in the “Documents” Tab
    • “Document Details” Page
    • “Document Search” Tab when the “All search results open for Comment” Checkbox is checked
  • Clicking the “Comment” Button on any of the above pages will display the Comment Form. You can enter your Comment on the form, attach files (a maximum of 20 files of up to 10MB each), and choose whether to identify yourself as an individual, an organization, or as anonymous.
  • Be sure to complete all required fields, indicated by a red asterisk (*). Please note that information entered on the Comment Form may be viewable publicly on Regulations.gov. Once you have completed all required fields, the “Submit Comment” Button will be enabled.
  • Upon completion, you will receive a Comment Tracking Number for your Comment.

Keep a list of the comments you’ve submitted. When the response is made public, go back and see how the agency responded to your concerns.