All major regulations issued by federal agencies would have to be approved by Congress under legislation passed Thursday night by the House for the fourth time — but the first time in anticipation of a Republican president who would sign it.
The proposal, intended to exert more congressional power over the executive branch, was born from Republican frustration with President Obama’s administration, which they accused of writing job-killing rules and regulations that went beyond the laws they were meant to implement.
But even with the imminent transition from Obama to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, the desire on Capitol Hill to curb presidential authority remains.
The House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS Act, on a 237-187 vote, and it now goes to the Senate, where three previous versions stalled.
Congress can already vote to disapprove of an agency rule within 60 days of its announcement, but that mechanism has been used only once in 20 years. The legislation passed Thursday goes further. Under the REINS act, a proposed regulation would be rejected if Congress was in session for 70 days and took no action to endorse it.
Republicans promoted it as a way to block bureaucratic regulations they believe stifle economic growth by burdening business owners with unnecessary rules related to environmental quality, consumer protection and labor policy, for example.
“The REINS Act provides Congress, and ultimately the people, with a much needed tool to check the one-way cost ratchet that Washington’s regulatory bureaucrats too often turn,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
If it becomes law, the proposal would apply only to rules or regulations with an economic impact of at least $100 million, with an exception for those deemed critical to national security.
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The proposal, intended to exert more congressional power over the executive branch, was born from Republican frustration with President Obama’s administration, which they accused of writing job-killing rules and regulations that went beyond the laws they were meant to implement.
But even with the imminent transition from Obama to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, the desire on Capitol Hill to curb presidential authority remains.
The House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS Act, on a 237-187 vote, and it now goes to the Senate, where three previous versions stalled.
Congress can already vote to disapprove of an agency rule within 60 days of its announcement, but that mechanism has been used only once in 20 years. The legislation passed Thursday goes further. Under the REINS act, a proposed regulation would be rejected if Congress was in session for 70 days and took no action to endorse it.
Republicans promoted it as a way to block bureaucratic regulations they believe stifle economic growth by burdening business owners with unnecessary rules related to environmental quality, consumer protection and labor policy, for example.
“The REINS Act provides Congress, and ultimately the people, with a much needed tool to check the one-way cost ratchet that Washington’s regulatory bureaucrats too often turn,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
If it becomes law, the proposal would apply only to rules or regulations with an economic impact of at least $100 million, with an exception for those deemed critical to national security.
MORE