Jason Chaffetz: “I want to thank Chairman Goodlatte. I also want to thank Congressman Ratcliffe of Texas. Included in H.R. 5 is the All…”

“I want to thank Chairman Goodlatte. I also want to thank Congressman Ratcliffe of Texas. Included in H.R. 5 is the All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act, or the ALERT Act. I want to highlight that, in the past two Congresses, the ALERT Act was reported favorably out of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The ALERT Act itself is simply a transparency bill. It requires the administration to provide meaningful information about upcoming regulations online before those are actually issued. Early online disclosure will create the need for transparency so the public can see what is on the horizon. Each month, Federal agencies will be required to list all regulations expected to be proposed or finalized within the following year. For each regulation on the list, the issuing agency is required to provide basic information to the public about that regulation. This includes the objectives of the regulation, the legal basis for the regulation, and where it stands in the rulemaking process. If the agency expects to finalize the regulation within the following year, the agency is also required to provide information about the impact of the regulation. This includes estimates on the costs, the completion date, and the economic effects of the regulation, including the net effect on jobs--something that doesn't happen now but seems to be just common sense.…”