As the lead sponsor of this legislation, I made sure it carefully targets the most harmful regulations while making exceptions for federal rules necessary for national security, trade agreements, enforcement of criminal and civil rights laws, and imminent threats to health or safety. It also includes a provision allowing the president to seek Congressional approval for other regulations that are absolutely critical.
The Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act rolls in other bills that would prevent outgoing presidents from issuing economically significant regulations at the last minute (H.R. 4607), increase transparency and judicial scrutiny of sue-and-settle litigation (H.R. 3862), require the Federal Communications Commission and the National Labor Relations Board to comply with the same regulatory review requirements as other agencies (H.R. 373), streamline the federal permitting process for major infrastructure projects (H.R. 4377), and require both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to conduct more thorough cost-benefit analyses of proposed regulations (H.R. 2308 and H.R. 1840).
In his State of the Union address, the president admitted “there’s no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary or too costly.” If there’s no question about the problem, he should embrace the House’s solution.
Rep. Tim Griffin (Ark.) is a member of the GOP freshman class of 2010.
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