The White House has just published a compilation of agencies’ plans for new regulations. But the document has stirred controversy for a number of reasons, not least because it was published nine months late. Republican lawmakers have accused the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of trying to hide those plans from the public.

Regulations expert Jerry Ellig, who served as acting director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Policy Planning under George W Bush and is now a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins The Federal Drive with his take.

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Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau soon may get the chance to unionize. More than 30 percent of them say they want that opportunity, and the National Treasury Employees Union wants to represent them. NTEU President Colleen Kelley joins The Federal Drive to discuss what’s ahead for the staff of this young and growing agency.

It’s hard to be the new kid. But at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a group of employees known as the ‘Under Five’ is trying to make it a bit easier for incoming staff. One way is to improve relations between newcomers and oldtimers, says Charley Francis, a portfolio management specialist at HUD in Boston.

A new study shows the public is resorting to lawsuits more frequently to get the government to release records. Court complaints over the Freedom of Information Act have increased since President George W. Bush’s term. It’s surprising considering President Barack Obama has pledged to make government more transparent. Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse collected the data. The co-director, David Burnham, joins The Federal Drive with more details.

Usually on January 1, folks are filled with hope for the new year. But not this time. Jan. 1, 2013 may be your last day to prepare for the fiscal cliff tax hikes. But is it too late? For answers, we turn now to registered employee benefit consultant Ed Zurndorfer.