The House approved a far-reaching regulatory reform package this week to hold government agencies accountable with support from U.S. Reps. Tom Marino (R-PA), Mike Bishop (R-MI) and Steve Womack (R-AR).
The Regulatory Relief Act, H.R. 5, includes six regulatory relief bills that were previously approved by the House.
Among the bills included was the Require Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wishlists (REVIEW) Act, H.R. 74, which was introduced by Marino to curb rules with annual costs of more than $1 billion from taking effect until all legal challenges are resolved.
Speaking in support of H.R. 5 on the House floor, Marino noted that regulatory burdens have reached record levels with the cumulative paperwork burden for Americans climbing to 11.5 billion hours.
“(The Review Act) would mandate a stay of any ‘high-impact,’ billion dollar regulation while judicial review is under way,” Marino said.
Only 26 rules with a billion-dollar impact have been put in place since 2006. “But in recent years, their frequency has grown along with the unprecedented reach of the regulatory state. In the past eight years, an average of three per year have been put in place. Their significance, however, lies in their impact on our country.”
These regulations, Marino continued, have the potential to fundamentally and irreversibly change entire industries.
Other measures in H.R. 5 include: the Regulatory Accountability Act, which would require agencies to use less costly regulations to achieve goals; the Separation of Powers Restoration Act, which would enable judges to “end judicial deference to bureaucrats’ statutory and regulatory interpretations;” and the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, which would require agencies to explain how their actions affect small businesses.
In addition, two measures focus on improving transparency by requiring agencies to publish mandatory transparency reports and also to publish summaries of new rules in plain language.
Bishop, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and a cosponsor of H.R. 5, said the regulatory process of federal agencies has gone unchecked for too long.
“Families and small businesses are sick and tired of Washington bureaucrats crafting costly rules and regulations behind closed doors,” Bishop said. “The Regulatory Accountability Act addresses this issue by ensuring Congress has proper oversight in the federal rulemaking process.”
Meanwhile, Womack said America’s job creators have been “desperate for relief from the endless stream of regulations” over the last eight years.
“The 115th Congress is wasting no time delivering long-awaited alleviation from the federal government’s regulatory restraints to create more opportunity and build a stronger America,” Womack said.