doi:10.7916/gt26-3r54Oral history interview with Cass R. Sunstein, 2021Sunstein, Cass Roral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesTransparency in government--United StatesSunstein, Cass RObama, BarackUnited StatesUnited States. Office of Management and BudgetDodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection ActPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActCass Sunstein discusses his contribution to the regulatory policy of the Obama administration, in which he served as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from 2009 to 2012. Sunstein outlines OIRA's function and responsibilities, and explains the importance of cost-benefit analysis to regulatory rule-making, the use of the public comment process in the development of rules, and the administration's efforts to ensure that new rules would not be vulnerable to legal challenges. Sunstein provides details about important regulatory initiatives with which he was closely involved, including the administration's calculation of the social cost of carbon, the financial reform effort that became the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and efforts to incorporate lessons from the behavioral sciences into federal rules. Also discussed are the internal debates that led to the release of Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review) in 2011, the administration's regulatory review process within the executive agencies, data.gov and efforts toward data transparency, and Sunstein's personal relationship with Barack Obama, which began when the pair were colleagues at the University of Chicago Law School