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Contact:  Megan Kindelan 202-480-2091 mkindelan@acus.gov

Judge Patricia McGowan Wald Steps Down from ACUS Council Reflects on Time Spent as a Council Member

Washington, D.C., September 12, 2012 – The Administrative Conference of the United States today announced that Judge Patricia McGowan Wald has resigned as a member of the presidentially-appointed Council due to her Senate confirmation as a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. “My two years on the Council have certainly been among the most satisfactory parts of my public career,” said Wald, who previously served for 20 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, including five years as Chief Judge.

Wald credited the “extraordinarily collegial atmosphere” among the 10 other council members, the leadership of Conference Chairman Paul R. Verkuil, and the hard work of ACUS staff  as key reasons the Conference has been successful. Wald also recognized the work of the 40 public and 50 private members of the Conference, who “donated hundreds of hours to reform the administrative process.” “Everyone at the Conference worked especially hard during the last two years to ensure that we had a credible and substantial work product,” Wald said. 

“I think we certainly accomplished that and I know the agency’s terrific record will continue into the future.”

Conference Chairman Verkuil said that Wald’s keen insights and analysis of recommendations will be greatly missed.  “We have been honored to have Judge Wald serve on the Council. Her preparation and careful analysis ensured that each recommendation we adopted was of the highest quality and usefulness to regulators, government agencies, and the public,” said Verkuil. “Her reputation in the field of administrative law is unmatched.”

Wald said one of the Conference’s greatest accomplishments was its “willingness to tackle, and I think to significantly contribute to, the improvement of agency operations in some of the most vexing and controversial regulatory areas such as immigration, government contractors and international regulatory cooperation.”

Wald also stated one key indicator of the Conference’s success is that government agencies have adopted many of the recommendations passed by the full Conference membership. “One of the goals of ACUS is to inquire from the agencies and from non-governmental sources to see what some of the trickiest areas of agency practice are that perhaps the agencies themselves do not always have the time or resources to inquire deeply into,” added Wald. 

“ACUS performs a valuable service by then researching and finding solutions to these issues.”

The Conference has adopted more than 200 recommendations aimed at improving Federal regulatory practices and procedures, including 14 new recommendations since its revival two years ago.

About ACUS The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector with diverse views and backgrounds.  With the exception of the Chairman, all Conference Members are unpaid. The Conference is committed to promoting effective public participation and efficiency in the rulemaking process by leveraging interactive technologies and encouraging open communication with the public, making improvements to the regulatory process by reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving the use of science and the effectiveness of applicable laws. Learn more at www.acus.gov.

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