Press Releases

 Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 10, the “Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011” (REINS Act).  H.R. 10 creates an unworkable process that will make it nearly impossible for new regulations to be enacted by giving Congress only 70 days in which to consider and approve major rules.  The REINS Act is the latest in a trio of anti-regulation measures considered by the House of Representatives within the past week.  House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) made the following statement: 

“The REINS Act takes regulatory power away from the agencies that have the requisite expertise.  The Congress then only has 70 days to pass exceedingly complex and technical regulations.  This bill appears to be a thinly disguised effort to derail the rulemaking process entirely. 

“The REINS Act will lead to dangerous consequences for the American people.  As House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member George Miller expressed it, the bill will undermine public health and workplace safety rules, which endangers the lives of Americans employed in inherently hazardous professions such as mine workers.  And as my colleague Representative Steve Cohen pointed out, the REINS Act might be more appropriately described as the ‘Acid Rain Act’, because of the detrimental effect it will have on environmental rules.

“For the third time in less than a week we are attacking the regulatory process based entirely on the false premise that regulations kill jobs.  In truth regulations do not kill jobs, they save lives.  If the majority really wants to create jobs they should take up President Obama’s American Jobs Act.   And if the Republican leadership really does care about the American middle class, they will extend unemployment insurance to those continuing to struggle to find work. 

“I support Leader Pelosi’s call for the Congress to enact job creating legislation now.  The American public deserves better.”

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