U.S. Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) introduced matching legislation on Tuesday in their respective chambers designed to block the implementation of “high impact rules” — such as the EPA’s recent new water rule and Clean Power Plan — with resulting costs over $1 billion until all court challenges to such new regulations are settled.
“Agency rules can become effective while the legal process is underway, and the costs to our economy are immediately incurred,” Marino, chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, said. “These costs are significant, and if the regulations are ultimately overturned, the damage is irreversible.”
The Marino-Coats package, referred to as the REVIEW Act, was co-sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) in the Senate. The REVIEW Act amends the Administrative Procedure Act to establish:
• a definition for “high-impact rules”— those costing more than $1 billion annually;
• an automatic stay of all high-impact rules pending final judicial review if a legal challenge is filed within 60 days
• a lifting of the stay if a challenge to the high-impact rule is not filed within 60 days.
“Businesses across the country have no way of recovering the billions of dollars incurred in compliance costs,” Marino said. “Those costs kill jobs and prevent investment in our infrastructure and economy. The REVIEW Act provides certainty to the regulatory process by halting billion-dollar regulations until the legal proceedings surrounding their legitimacies and costs have concluded.”
As a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Marino has always been familiar with Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, which he represents. Elected in 2010 after unseating a two-term Democrat incumbent, Marino has steadfastly focused his attention and congressional work on benefiting his constituents. Marino is a lawyer, a former district attorney of Lycoming County and a former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Marino has brought his experience and knowledge to Washington, D.C., to become a leader in the House.