Walden backs moves to cut ‘costly, overreaching’ federal rules

Saying he is “committed to growing the economy and protecting small businesses in Oregon,” Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Thursday he supported bills passed by the House this week to rein in costly, burdensome and overreaching federal regulations.

Below is a transcript from Walden’s video release applauding the legislation:

“Regulations imposed about $15,000 per household from the federal government just in 2015. When you think about how some of them have come out of agencies like the EPA, and their unilateral expansions of Waters of the U.S., and what that means for family farmers and ranchers.”

“We took action in the House — in the first week — to pass the REINS Act, that says unelected bureaucrats have to follow the law. And Congress has the opportunity to make sure they do, by making sure no major regulations takes effect unless it complies with the law and Congress has the chance to approve it. This is part of reining in out of control regulators.”

“We are also working on other things that are really important. Like making sure that when presidents of either party leave office, they can’t jam the process with midnight rules that no one sees coming — and do it on their way out the door. The House has spoken, we hope the Senate will, and I know incoming President Trump will sign both into law if they get to his desk.”

Just one week into the new session of Congress, the House passed two pieces of legislation that would require Congressional approval for major regulations, and prohibit presidents from implementing so-called “midnight rules” during their final days in office. The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act requires government agencies to submit all major regulations to Congress for approval. Under this law, a major regulation would not become effective until Congress approves it, which must happen through a vote within 70 legislative days. President-elect Donald Trump has signaled he supports the REINS Act, and intends to sign it into law should it reach his desk as President.

The Midnight Rules Relief Act (H.R. 21), another bill passed in the House this week, would prohibit presidents from implementing regulations during their final months in office — referred to as the “midnight period” — without proper vetting by Congress first. Currently, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) authorizes Congress to disapprove only one rule at a time, while numerous rules can be handed down at once by the President. The Midnight Rules Relief Act amends the CRA to allow Congress to disapprove multiple rules at once — including midnight rules — to prevent a flood of regulations from overwhelming the review process.

Walden’s news release stated, “This critical legislative work comes after federal regulations imposed an estimated $1.885 trillion burden on America’s economy in 2015 alone, equaling roughly $15,000 per household. The Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University also found that there is a significant increase in regulations implemented during the final months of presidential administrations, often reducing the review time necessary to justify new rules.”

Walden said his “support for these plans continues his efforts to push back against onerous federal regulations that burden economies in rural Oregon. Walden has repeatedly spoken out against the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule, which greatly expanded the agency’s regulatory authority without approval from Congress.”

Both the REINS Act and Midnight Rules Relief Act now await consideration in the Senate.