RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

Drug prices are a pressing policy issue. On November 20, 2020, President Donald Trump announced two new rules aimed at reducing drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. These rules use a system known as reference pricing, which ties the price the federal government pays for patented drugs and treatments to the prices other countries pay. These rules are set to take effect in January 2021. Meanwhile, legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives and supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi would create an International Pricing Index.These policies enjoy bipartisan support, but they also face bipartisan opposition. Some think the Trump rules do not go far enough, and others argue that reference pricing is bad policy regardless.In this episode, two distinguished experts who have worked and written extensively on this issue, Prof. Adam Mossoff and Dr. Wendell Primus, join us for a discussion of reference pricing, current policy proposals, and future challenges.Featuring:- Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University- Wendell Primus, Senior Policy Advisor on Budget and Health Issues, Office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi- [Moderator] Dean Reuter, Vice President, General Counsel, and Director of Practice Groups, The Federalist SocietyVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

In this episode, an expert panel looks at what the new year may bring regarding the hot topics of tech policy. Some key policy debates – such as antitrust and "Big Tech," online speech and Section 230, and the race to 5G – are likely to continue, but what other tech policy conversations may arise? And how might the approach to regulation of the new presidential administration and Congress impact innovation and the tech industry?Featuring:- Jennifer Huddleston, Director of Technology & Innovation Policy, American Action Forum- Blake Reid, Clinical Professor, University of Colorado Law School- [Moderator] Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

There are nearly 500,000 commercial drones registered in the United States, far exceeding recent FAA projections. Fields like photography, agriculture, and public safety have adopted drone services and there are a few programs for long-distance services – like utility line inspection, surveying, and home delivery – popping up around the country.Despite the rapid maturation of the technology, mass-market services are still years away in the United States in part because of difficult legal and policy questions raised in a recent GAO report to Congress: Should state or federal aviation officials regulate low-altitude drone services and operations? How do regulators encourage a healthy drone services industry while protecting residents' property rights and privacy? Who will build and operate unmanned traffic management systems? This expert panel discussed these topics and more in a Lincoln Network Reboot Conversation co-sponsored by the Regulatory Transparency Project.Featuring:- Reggie Govan, Former Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration- Alexiaa Jordan, Innovation, Cyber, and National Security Analyst; Lincoln Network- Brent Skorup, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

How is insurance regulated in the United States? How are emerging technologies disrupting the industry? And what issues do policymakers face regarding privacy concerns in our era of big data?Ian Adams joins the podcast to answer these questions and more.Featuring:- Ian Adams, Executive Director, International Center for Law & EconomicsVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration waived or suspended enforcement of a number of regulations, such as regulations affecting telemedicine. Will the Biden administration continue existing waivers or suspensions as is or take a new tack on regulatory flexibility during the continuing pandemic?Featuring:- Karen Harned, Executive Director, National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center- Sally Katzen, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence & Co-Director of the Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic, New York University- [Moderator] Daniel Flores, Senior Counsel, Committee on Oversight and Reform, U.S. House of RepresentativesVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

When the FCC put forward its proposed repeal of the net neutrality rule, it received 22 million public comments, by far the largest number any agency has ever received in connection with a rulemaking. The overwhelming public reaction was probably a bit surprising to agency staff, regulatory lawyers, lobbyists, and others who work in the wonky world of regulatory policymaking, where getting a hundred or so comments is perceived as a very robust response rate. And the rule vaulted agency rulemaking into the public consciousness in a way that very seldom happens, with TV host John Oliver and others encouraging everyday Americans to file comments on the proposed rule.Though the increased public awareness of the power of regulatory agencies is undoubtedly a good thing, what exactly is an agency supposed to do with 22 million public comments? Even discounting for fraudulent or computer-generated comments (of which the agency received millions), does the agency have any obligation to consider whether or not members of the public approve of its proposed action? Should it? And if it should, is counting comments an effective way of determining public sentiment? The law provides very few clear answers to these questions, and there’s a major disconnect between the views of the public (who tend to see the public comment process as a vote) and regulators (who view comments as valuable only if they provide technical information). This panel considers both the legal and policy issues surrounding the question of whether, and how, an agency should take account of public opinion as expressed in comments.Featuring:- Steven Balla, Associate Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs, George Washington University- Reeve Bull, Research Director, Administrative Conference of the United States- Michael Livermore, Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law, University of Virginia- [Moderator] Susan Dudley, Director, GW Regulatory Studies Center & Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.Any views expressed by the speakers are those of the speakers in their personal capacities. They do not necessarily reflect the positions of their affiliated organizations. In Mr. Bull’s case, he is speaking exclusively in his personal capacity and not as an employee of the Administrative Conference.

In this episode, Brent Skorup discusses the current state of drone technology, the history of airspace and drone regulations in the United States, and his new paper, "Drone Technology, Airspace Design, and Aerial Law in States and Cities," published by the Mercatus Center.The paper is available here: https://www.mercatus.org/publications/technology-and-innovation/drone-technology-airspace-design-and-aerial-law-states-and-0.Featuring: - Brent Skorup, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason UniversityVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for state lawmakers as they attempt to address public health and economic concerns. The crisis has also raised significant questions about whether states should reform existing regulatory regimes, and about the propriety of adding further regulatory burdens during an ongoing pandemic.In this live podcast, Brian Kabateck, Luke Wake, and Clark Neily address vital questions raised by the virus, including how states should balance public health and economic concerns, whether states should change their enforcement priorities during the crisis, and whether this is the right time for states to liberalize economic regulations more generally. The discussion is centered around several proposals from the Regulatory Transparency Project's State & Local Working Group, which recently published a white paper entitled "Ten Reforms to Spur Coronavirus Recovery."Featuring:- Brian Kabateck, Founding and Managing Partner, Kabateck LLP- Luke Wake, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation- [Moderator] Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice, Cato InstituteVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Joel Zinberg joins the podcast to discuss a range of COVID-19 vaccine questions. How has the development process under Operation Warp Speed compared to the normal vaccine development process? Where do the leading vaccines currently stand in terms of FDA approval? And what difficulties might arise during the distribution stage?Featuring:- Joel Zinberg, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise InstituteVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

On November 30, 2020, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai joined the Federalist Society's Columbia Student Chapter for a wide-ranging discussion on net neutrality, Section 230, and more, in an online Q&A co-sponsored by the Regulatory Transparency Project.Featuring:- Ajit Pai, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission- [Moderator] Brad Larson, Regulatory Transparency Project Series Chair, the Federalist Society's Columbia Student ChapterVisit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.