Also In the News: Obama said to pick OIRA chief

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor, will be President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

President-elect Barack Obama will name Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor, to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) which oversees federal regulations, according to report published on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site.

According to the article, Sunstein is a friend of Obama's and a former colleague at the University of Chicago Law School who “will mark a sharp departure for the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.”

The article cited an unnamed transition official as the source for the story.

The article also cited Obama aides as having said the OIRA administrator post will be crucial as the new administration works to implement its financial, environmental and health care policies.

The article said Sunstein may be best known for seeking to shape law and policy around the way people behave.