Dear Representative,

On behalf of more than 1.5 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I urge you to support Representative Geoff Davis’s Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act – H.R. 10. The REINS Act would begin to restore Congress’s proper role in the construction of rules that govern the country by requiring executive agencies to submit major rulemaking proposals to Congress for review and a clear up-or-down vote before the rules take effect.

Representative Davis estimates that every year between 80 and 85 major rules—rules with an impact of more than $100 million—are implemented by executive agencies with no vote by elected officials. It is time to inject accountability into the rulemaking process and require agencies to bring these major rulemakings before the People’s duly-elected representatives.

Executive agencies obviously serve an important role in the creation of the complex rules that govern our society. Congressional delegation of authority is required so that agency experts can take the necessary time to study relevant issues and produce thoughtful rules. Additionally, the public comment process is crucial because it allows stakeholders to advise executive agencies on how to make rules that accomplish agency goals while still allowing regulated entities to function.

However, the often clandestine agency process should not be without congressional input. The Congressional Review Act was an excellent first step toward ensuring agencies do not vastly overreach their authority. But the CRA is reactive and requires that Congress sift through thousands of regulations searching for objectionable rules. By removing some of the previously delegated authority, the REINS Act would reverse this procedure and require agencies to report major rules and request authority to implement them.

It is time for Congress to reassert its proper role in the rulemaking process and rescind this portion of previously delegated authority. I urge you to support H.R. 10, the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act.

Sincerely,

James Valvo
Director of Government Affairs
Americans for Prosperity