Congress needs to reassert regulatory oversight, R Street study finds
WASHINGTON (March 10, 2015) – After years of ceding authority to the executive branch, Congress should take steps to regain its rule-making power, according to a paper released by the R Street Institute today.
In “Three steps for reasserting Congress in regulatory policy,” R Street Governance Project Director and Senior Fellow Kevin R. Kosar writes that, due to Congress shirking its responsibility, federal agencies take it upon themselves to write thousands of new regulations per year.
“Power abhors a vacuum, so the executive branch has moved in the legislative space abandoned by Congress,” writes Kosar. “Agencies increasingly are the nation’s lawmakers, finalizing about 80 new rules per week and proposing another 50 new regulations.”
Kosar outlines several remedies to help Congress regain its legislative power from the executive branch. These steps include engaging member interest in regulations by creating regular bulletins to monitor proposed and final rules; using the Congressional Review Act to encourage members to demand further scrutiny, and potential preemption, of troublesome proposed rules; and enacting legislation like the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. REINS-type legislation would require Congress to approve proposed rules whose effects on the economy would be greater than $100 million.
“REINS-type legislation would force regulatory oversight back onto Congress’ legislative calendar,” Kosar writes. “Additionally, requiring congressional approval would stop vaguely written statutes from being implemented.”
The full paper can be found here:
http://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RSTREET34.pdf
