On the recordDecember 7, 2011
This motion is a distraction. It misses the point of this legislation entirely. We are here today to restore accountability for the regulations with the biggest impact on our economy. Good, bad or ugly--and our regulatory code includes all three-- Congress should be accountable for regulations that cost the American people $100 million or more annually. The REINS Act simply says that Congress must vote on these regulations, these major rules, before they can be enforced on the American people. Essentially, this motion to recommit repeats part of an exclusion already attempted in the McCarthy amendment that the House just voted down. It's purely a political motion. The REINS Act has been the subject of two hearings and a markup in the Judiciary Committee and was subject to an additional markup in the Rules Committee. Today, we have had a robust debate on the bill and seven amendments, five of which were offered by colleagues in the minority. Congress has a bipartisan bad habit writing vague legislation that sounds nice, but leaves the dirty work to unelected bureaucrats in administrative agencies. This practice has allowed the Congress to claim credit for popular aspects of laws, and blame regulatory agencies for increased costs or the otherwise negative effects of the regulations. Agencies are also starting to bypass Congress by writing regulations that stretch the bounds of their delegated authorities.…
