AFP Applauds Senate Committee Action on Critical Regulatory Reform Legislation, Including the REINS Act
Arlington, Va. – Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Regulations Policy Fellow Clint Woods issued the following statement in response to a business meeting by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in which several pieces of legislation related to COVID-19 and smart regulatory reform were passed:
“We commend Chairman Ron Johnson and members of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee for advancing a number of critical bills, including S. 92, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, and S. 4077, Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act.
“The REINS Act provides a critical means for legislative accountability for major regulations, which can create economic hardship and burdens disproportionately affecting the least fortunate among us. Delegating key rulemaking authority has resulted in decades of regulatory accumulation that makes government unresponsive to the needs of the American people. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped expose this tragic reality that much of our federal red tape stands in the way of emergency response and economic recovery.
“The Unfunded Mandates Accountability and Transparency Act would extend commonsense regulatory requirements to independent agencies, reduce overwhelming regulatory burdens for state, local, and tribal governments, and expand accountability through judicial review.”
Background:
AFP recently released “Recover Stronger: A Starting Point to Build An Economy that Works for All,” a set of principles and recommendations that offer lawmakers a starting point to build a stronger economy as the country recovers from COVID-19. As Congress considers additional massive spending bills, the guidance is intended to present better alternatives to help the economy recover – and ultimately create a new, stronger economy.
AFP also recently issued recommendations for Congress to ensure long-lasting reforms for federal regulations and burdensome red tape as well as recommendations for statutes, orders, and regulations with explicit emergency or waiver provisions that should be immediately invoked to unleash economic recovery and critical infrastructure projects.
