Law Professor Named Head Of OMB Regulatory Division

A Harvard law professor has been named to a high-ranking post at the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Professor of Law Douglas H. Ginsburg will join the Reagan Administration next fall as head of the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which oversees bureaucratic paperwork and reviews regulations proposed by federal agencies.

Ginsburg replaces former Kennedy School lecturer Christopher C. DeMuth '68, who has occupied the post since 1981.

An expert on regulatory policy, Ginsburg is currently on leave from the Law School as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's antitrust division.

Budget Director David A. Stockman appointed Ginsburg to his new position at DeMuth's recommendation, OMB spokesman Edwin L. Dale Jr. said earlier this week. Ginsburg and DeMuth have had a long association as classmates at the University of Chicago and colleagues on the Harvard Faculty Project on Regulation, which DeMuth directed.

"I would not have been comfortable about a change at this time had we not persuaded Doug Ginsburg to take over for me," DeMuth stated, announcing his resignation. "He will be a tough and articulate advocate of the President's policy," he added.

According to Dale, DeMuth stepped down to pursue a private business venture and complete a book on government regulation he began before going to Washington.

DeMuth could not be reached for coment, but Professor of Political Economy Richard J. Zeckhauser said that he wanted to get away from the pressures and demands of work at the OMB.

"He wanted to have more time for himself and more time to reflect," said Zeckhauser, a friend of DeMuth.

Zeckhauser added that DeMuth, a former Nixon White House aide, is now weighing a variety of career options in business, law, and academics.

Ginsburg said yesterday he plans to resume his academic career when his term at the OMB expires. However, if he remains in Washington more than two years, he cannot return to his Harvard position without a vote of the law faculty.

Working closely with DeMuth, Ginsburg has studied regulatory problems involving the airline industry, occupational safety issues, and environmental hazards. He has also written books on interstate banking, the regulation of broadcasting, and the future of the auto industry.

At the Justice Department, Ginsburg urged governmental agencies to adopt "pro-competitive solutions" to regulatory problems, he explained, adding. "The basic precept is that government regulations be cost-justified."

With the assistance of a 50-member staff, Ginsburg will study proposed regulatory policies, ultimately granting them the go-ahead or sending their authors back to the drawing board. As head of OIRA, he will play a critical role in the Reagan Administration's deregulation program.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge presented by the new job and to helping implement the President's program in the second term," he said.