In January, President Obama signed an Executive Order requiring all federal agencies to review existing regulations. The goal is to figure out what should stay, what should change, and what should go; making our regulatory program less burdensome, more effective, and better equipped to achieve regulatory goals. As a key step toward fulfilling the President’s mission, DHS today published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on how best to develop a preliminary plan for a DHS-wide review of our existing regulations - It’s all a part of the Obama administration’s efforts to increase transparency and accountability in regulatory compliance across the federal government.

To execute the most efficient review possible, we need to hear from you. That’s why, in addition to the Federal Register comment mechanism, we are encouraging individuals and organizations, and State, local, and tribal entities to submit comments using the IdeaScale public dialogue tool—a simple, web-based forum that facilitates a two way conversation about how DHS regulations can best serve the public while still meeting their regulatory objectives.

Tell us which regulations you think should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed altogether to better serve you and your community. With IdeaScale, you can submit new ideas, add comments on ideas, and vote on ideas submitted by other participants.

It’s a simple and effective way to contribute to the mission of DHS. By participating, you are helping the Department better serve you as we support the Obama administration’s promise to increase transparency and accountability across the federal government.

The dialogue opens today, so get your ideas in and keep them coming for the duration of the comment period. We look forward to hearing from you!