Joni Ernst
U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN) and Rand Paul (R-KY) reintroduced legislation that would bring congressional oversight to costly regulations handed down by the executive branch.
The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, S. 21, was one of the first pieces of legislation filed in the Senate in the 115th Congress.
The measure would require congressional oversight and approval of major rules that have an economic impact of $100 million or more, create cost increases for consumers, or have other adverse effects on the economy.
“Over the last eight years, we have seen unelected bureaucrats morph the congressional intent of our nation’s laws to impose economically harmful regulations that ignored the concerns of communities most impacted by the rule,” Ernst said.
She called for increasing transparency and holding regulatory agencies accountable by allowing Congress to review sweeping rules and regulations that will impact citizens.
“This legislation gives folks across the country a voice in the process and is a step in the right direction to rein in burdensome, out-of-control government regulations that interfere in Iowans’ everyday lives,” Ernst said.
According to an American Action Forum (AAF) review, the Obama Administration’s final regulatory agenda contains at least $75 billion in planned regulatory costs. That includes $44 billion of costs associated with so-called midnight regulations issued between November 2016 and January 2017. Those figures would be in addition to the more than $150 million in final regulatory costs already published in 2016, AAF said.
The legislative branch is “the people’s branch” of government, Grassley said, and members of Congress rightly hear from constituents about “heavy-handed” regulations that don’t work as intended or hurt job creation.
“Because of this, it’s appropriate for Congress to restore democratic accountability by reclaiming the legislative authority it was granted in the Constitution when it comes to regulations holding the force of law that have big costs for the economy, consumers, and taxpayers,” Grassley said.
Young called S. 21 a fix to executive overreach and the trend of Congress giving up its legislative power to the executive branch.
“As the son of a small business owner, I know how regulatory overreach can stifle our local economies and cost American jobs,” Young said. “By making Congress ultimately responsible for the rules Americans must live by, the REINS Act will give Hoosiers, and all Americans, a louder voice in the regulatory process through their elected representatives.”