Bishop co-sponsors resolution to boost oversight of federal regulators

U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) said unelected bureaucrats annually create a multitude of rules without any checks over their impact on families and businesses, and he is co-sponsoring a resolution to “cut through the red tape that is holding America back.”

Bishop and U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) recently introduced the Regulation Sensibility Through Oversight Restoration Resolution,  known as the RESTORE Resolution of 2015, which aims to create greater congressional oversight of federal rules and the process that  agencies use to create them.

“While this Congress has certainly made progress addressing the regulatory burdens of this administration, RESTORE takes congressional oversight a step further by giving the people’s representatives a place in the review process,” Bishop told Ripon Advance.

Specifically, The RESTORE Resolution calls for formal hearings to be held in rulemaking proceedings so that interested parties are given the chance to comment on a proposed rule or regulation.

Additionally, the resolution would establish a joint House and Senate committee tasked with researching and studying federal regulations, making recommendations to reduce the burden these regulations have on Americans, and analyzing the feasibility and identifying the options for creating a modified congressional review process, Bishop said.

“Regulations today are costing an annual average of nearly $15,000 per American household,” Bishop said. “Local shops and businesses, both big and small, are paying thousands of dollars per employee in regulatory costs alone.”

There are more than 3,500 rules issued every year in the U.S. by more than 50 federal agencies, the RESTORE Resolution said.

The Small Business Administration said the annual cost of all of the rules in effect in 2005 was approximately $1.1 trillion.

Bishop said these regulations are “stifling the American Dream” across the country and in Michigan’s Eighth District, which Bishop represents. “RESTORE will help strengthen the voice of the people we represent.”

The House RESTORE Resolution already has garnered support from the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Rural Broadband Association, the National Stone Council, American Trucking Association and the American Hospital Association, among several other groups. The resolution has been referred to the House Rules Committee.

In the Senate, a companion resolution with the same name, was introduced in March by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and has been referred to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.