As the votes were counted to reveal House passage of the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) issued a statement regarding his support of the measure.
“Congress has a duty to curb federal agencies’ out-of-control rules and regulations, and the REINS Act creates additional oversight to help make that possible,” Bishop said. “This particular administration is out of control, with 500 major regulations costing more than $600 billion to date. It’s no wonder families and small businesses feel they cannot succeed when they’re up against so many costly burdens and constraints.”
The REINS Act would increase accountability and transparency in the federal regulatory process. Essentially, the legislation requires that any rule or regulation proposed by the Executive Branch with an estimated economic impact of $100 million or more must be approved by Congress.
“Our Founding Fathers built a system of government based on checks and balances, and the REINS Act is an important step to bring back the nation they envisioned,” Bishop said. “I look forward to building on this effort in the weeks and months ahead.”
The House Judiciary Committee said the economic impact of federal regulatory overreach can be crippling. Research on the subject indicates:
• Federal regulations imposed an estimated $1.88 trillion burden on U.S. job creators and households in 2014. That equals at least $14,976 per U.S. household and 11.5 percent of America’s real gross domestic product.
• During the first six years of the Obama administration, federal regulators added an average of 81 new major regulations per year – nearly 500 so far. At least 184 of these rules contained new federal mandates with annual costs of nearly $80 billion.
• The pace and volume of federal regulations and rules are increasing; one review said last year’s Federal Register contained 77,687 pages, making it the sixth-highest page count in its history.
Mike Bishop’s proven leadership and diverse experiences prepared him to represent Michigan’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes all of Ingham County, Livingston County and North Oakland County.