The House voted on Wednesday to approve what would be an enormous clawback of government bureaucracy and the administrative state.
The House voted 221-210 to pass the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny, or REINS, Act. Introduced by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), the legislation seeks to hand Congress more power over the rulemaking process, which proponents said has been used excessively to enact sweeping changes in the United States without the backing of lawmakers.
HOUSE PASSES FIRST BILL TO BLOCK FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S GAS STOVE BAN
The bill, which is not likely to advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate and would be vetoed by President Joe Biden, targets rulemaking from the executive branch and requires that every new “major rule” proposed by federal agencies be approved by the House and Senate before going into effect.
The REINS Act describes a “major rule” as any federal rule or regulation that would cause an annual economic effect in excess of $100 million, a major increase in consumer prices, or adverse effects on competition, employment, and investment, among other criteria. The REINS Act would fundamentally change how presidential administrations use the federal bureaucracy, given that any major changes would be subject to congressional oversight.
Cammack, who contended there is bipartisan support for reforming the administrative state, told the Washington Examiner ahead of the vote that both major parties have weaponized the rulemaking process to promulgate rules and regulations that might never have a shot at being approved by lawmakers.
“Today, I think people can all agree, regardless of what political affiliation you have, that there is a new fourth branch of government, and it’s the regulatory regime,” she said.
Critics of the REINS Act said it would hamstring the federal government and make the regulatory process more cumbersome. The White House argued in a veto threat that the legislation would add to the regulatory process an “unwieldy, unnecessary, and time-consuming hurdle that would prevent implementation of critical safeguards that protect public safety, grow our economy, and advance the public interest.”
While the REINS Act has no chance of becoming law with Biden in the White House, the vote is clear messaging that reforming the administrative state is becoming a key priority for Republicans heading into 2024, who might end up passing such a law should the GOP win the White House.
The rulemaking process has faced more scrutiny since Biden was sworn into office, given some sweeping and controversial rules that federal agencies have proposed. In fact, Biden’s first veto of his presidency was a GOP attempt to override a Labor Department rule that allows retirement plan managers to consider environmental, social, and governance factors when making investments.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The rule allows, though doesn’t require, fiduciaries to weigh ESG factors when making investment decisions for U.S. retirement accounts. A few centrist Democrats joined Republicans in sending the measure to Biden’s desk for a veto.
The Wednesday vote comes about a week after the REINS Act vote was originally supposed to be held. A group of hard-line conservatives had held up House business as a result of disapproval of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and GOP leadership’s handling of debt limit negotiations with the Biden administration.
