House Republicans set to pass legislation to hobble the administrative state
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
June 12, 2023 05:00 AM
House Republicans are set to pass legislation that would dramatically roll back government bureaucracy and put more control in the hands of elected officials.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) introduced the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act earlier this year, and it is set to be voted on soon. The bill targets rulemaking from the executive branch and would mandate that every new “major rule” proposed by federal agencies must be approved by both the House and Senate before going into effect.
The current iteration of the REINS Act describes a “major rule” as any federal rule or regulation that may result in an annual economic effect of more than $100 million, a major increase in consumer prices, or adverse effects on competition, employment, and investment, among other strictures.
“Today I think people can all agree, regardless of what political affiliation you have, that there is a new fourth branch of government and it’s the regulatory regime,” Cammack told the Washington Examiner during an interview. “It’s been weaponized by both parties … instead of going through the traditional legislative process we now have nameless, faceless bureaucrats in basements all over Washington, D.C., making law, implementing law, without any accountability or consequences.”
But critics of the proposal say it would add burdensome guardrails to the regulatory process and would hamstring the federal government in taking action.
Cammack said that her bill is designed to hand back Congress its Article 1 authority to legislate the proposed rules and regulations that meet the criteria for major changes. She said giving Congress that power is particularly important now because the “hyper-partisan” Biden administration has been using rulemaking so aggressively.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/republican-reins-act-administrative-state
