The Responsibility of Congress for Regulatons

Recent events have surfaced in the news about policy changes from federal agencies which will end up costing jobs in private industry. One example is a change in requirements for air quality by the EPA. Lowering the requirements for clean air will increase the cost of business operations to comply with the new rules. Today in these times, costs for businesses need to stay the same or be lowered to jump start the economy. These rules have already had an effect on some power companies, forcing plants to be targeted for closure. The reason given is the increase in cost to comply with new applicable standards. I am in favor of quality air standards, but when changes of this magnitude are put in place, the impact on businesses need to be considered. In addition, the amount of improvement to our air quality also needs to be examined before changes are imposed. I am not discounting the need for clean air standards, but actions by any federal agency in changing the rules or regulations will have an impact. The question to be answered is whether the impact will be positive or negative.

Today it seems new regulations or rules are being published every day which can be seen in the number of documents being published in the Federal Register. The Federal Register is the archive of all legislative documents. Each day federal agencies publish articles, proposed rules, final rules and public notices. Along with Presidential actions, these documents are all in the Federal Register. Our elected officials at any level of government have a responsibility to those who elected them to make sure regulations and rules created by government agencies or departments agree with the law.

There are currently two bills in Congress which address the need to review these documents. One is Senate Bill 299 and the other is House Bill 10 (Reins Act) which is part of the pledge to America. Both these acts have been included the House and Senate Republican plan for job creation. Along with the support of over 150 representatives and over 20 senators there are over 15 organizations which support the action these two bills are proposing. Many individuals may not have heard of these legislative actions or what they hope to achieve.

The basic concept involved cites Section 1 of Article 1 in that the Constitution grants all legislative powers to Congress. The purpose of this act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the Federal Regulatory process. The act imposes the requirement for Congressional Review before a rule may take effect. It requires a Federal agency to submit to each House of Congress and the Comptroller General the following information.

- A copy of the rule

- A concise general statement relating to the rule

- A classification as a major or non-major rule

- A list of other related regulatory actions intended to implement the same statutory provision or object.

- The proposed effective date of the rule

In addition to the above requirements, additional information must be submitted to both Houses of Congress and the Comptroller General. The additional requirements broaden the scope of the information required and are provided below:

- A complete copy of the cost-benefit analysis of the rule, if any

- The agency’s action pursuant to title 5 and title 2 to the United States Code

- Provide additional relevant information or requirements which may be applicable under any other act and any relevant Executive Orders.

Senate Bill 299 was originally introduced as S-3826 and the REINS (H.R. 10) act was originally introduced as H.R. 3765. Both were originally introduced in 2009. We have not heard much about the REINS act by name and there seems to be little if any news coverage of this concept. It is well known that the size of government has grown over the years and with that growth comes more regulations. Granted within the realm of their authority, government agencies and departments have the responsibility to provide needed regulations or instructions to the public for legislative actions under their control.

These two pieces of legislation are important to bring about more transparency and accountability of government agencies and departments to Congress. The last several years, there has been little if any scrutiny of regulations and rules put forth by departments of the executive branch. Congress generates many laws and as such a department or agency must generate documents to address the requirements and the methods of enforcement.

The concept and objectives of these legislative proposals is one which should be embraced by all of our elected officials. The job of the Senate and House of Representatives as I see it is to pass legislation to address issues facing our citizens and our country as a whole. Part of this responsibility should involve monitoring regulations and decisions generated by the Departments of the Executive Branch to accomplish their responsibilities under the law. Monitoring the creation and content of regulations involves the concept of checks and balances and is the reason why we have three branches of government.

With the battle over the deficit completed, Congress must turn to addressing the scope and size of government. I agree that some regulations are needed for each department to accomplish their responsibilities. One thing that is certain if nothing else, the language in government legislation is at best confusing, not only to individuals, but also to businesses that must ensure that they do not violate the law of the land. This sometimes requires the assistance of a lawyer to work through the language so it can be put in terms the general public understands, and this increases the cost of business, which ultimately falls to the consumer. In this respect, the need to evaluate regulations being generated by government agencies and departments cannot be denied. Sometimes with legislative language there can be a different interpretation of the intent. It should be required that regulations being generated be evaluated to ensure they do not violate the intent of the law. Another reason for reviewing regulations is to ensure that regulations are not being generated to get around laws that have not been implemented. Some news reports have indicated that this may be the case in some instances. This should not be taken to mean that all government entities that generate regulations are in the practice of implementing rules associated with laws not enacted by Congress.

Another point to make is that our federal government is not the only government organization that creates regulations and rules. States also have this structure and their responsibilities should be the same at the state level as it is at the federal level. If you the reader of this article feel that regulations are killing businesses capability to expand, I urge you to contact your senators and representatives at the state and national levels to let them know your feelings. The key point being made is that the government needs to return to more of a check and balance philosophy. Legislators need to monitor what Executive Departments and Agencies are placing in their regulations and rules. The intent of a review of these actions is not to eliminate regulations, as some are needed associated with government responsibilities. The intent is to make sure the content of regulations makes sense and has a positive impact on the citizens affected by them.