Action: The President should issue a directive limiting the use of unfunded mandates by the administration.49 As the federal deficit mounted in the 1980s, Congress found it more and more difficult to spend new money. Instead, it often turned to "unfunded mandates"-- passing laws for the states and localities to follow, but giving them little or no money to implement those policies. As of December 1992, there were at least 172 separate pieces of federal legislation in force that imposed requirements on state and local governments. Many of these, such as clean water standards and increased public access for disabled citizens, are unquestionably noble goals. But the question remains: How will state and local governments pay to meet those goals? We recommend that Congress refrain from this practice and that the President's directive establish that the executive branch will similarly limit its use of unfunded mandates in policies, legislative proposals and regulations. The directive would narrow the circumstances under which departments and agencies could impose new unfunded burdens on other governments. It also would direct federal agencies to review their existing regulations and reduce the number of mandates that interfere with effective service delivery. OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) should review all major regulations or legislation proposed by the executive branch for possible adverse impacts on states and localities. Finally, OIRA's director should create a forum in which federal, state, and local officials could develop solutions to problems involving unfunded mandates.