Legislation recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) would require increases in the debt limit to be offset with reductions in the cost of regulatory burdens.
The Reducing Excessive Government (REG) Act, S. 3119, which was introduced by Gardner and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), would also require federal agencies to report to Congress on any regulations that cost the economy more than $100 million.
“As I travel around Colorado, I continue to hear from small business owners who are struggling with burdensome federal regulations that stand in the way of their growth and expansion,” Gardner said. “As we continue to work toward a full economic recovery, it’s important that Congress acts to counter Washington’s top-down regulations and failed one-size-fits-all approach. The REG Act is commonsense legislation that aims to reduce the number of excessive, Washington-born regulations in order to pave the way for American entrepreneurs and innovators to do what they do best: create jobs and grow the economy.”
Under the bill, the treasury secretary would be directed to report to Congress on the amount of new debt that would be incurred in the event of a suspension of the debt limit. Then, the amount of new debt incurred during the suspension would have to be matched with a proportional reduction in the cost of regulatory burdens of at least 15 percent.
“Any time Congress decides to raise the debt ceiling, substantive policy changes need to be made that would affect the long-term trajectory of the country,” Lee said. “This bill would require a serious evaluation of our regulatory policy any time the debt ceiling is raised. It would give Congress the power and regular opportunity to lift regulatory burdens on the public that hurt innovation and growth.”
If Congress failed to approve reductions in regulatory burden, or the president failed to sign approved reductions, the debt limit would revert to current levels.