Updated REINS Act introduced in Senate and House

Today, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representative Kat Cammack (R, FL-03) introduced an updated version of the REINS (Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny) Act, making the preexisting regulatory reform bill even more effective. With these additions, especially in light of the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo Supreme Court ruling, Congress should promptly pass this legislation and restore policymaking back to the legislative branch.

Wayne Crews, CEI Fred L. Smith Jr. Fellow in Regulatory Studies: "Sen. Paul and Rep. Cammack's updated version of the REINS Act is an essential government reform bill that would strengthen congressional oversight, put a brake on administrative power, and reinstate accountability in the rulemaking process. Building upon all the good the preexisting REINS Act would do, the updated REINS Act includes new provisions to further empower Congress to check unaccountable government.

Importantly, the bill would require that guidance documents and other forms of "regulatory dark matter" be subject to congressional approval. The bill would also address the concern that rules and guidance documents are not properly submitted to Congress or the Government Accountability Office. Together, these provisions would bring greater scrutiny to the regulatory process - especially important since the Biden administration dismantled President Trump's guidance portals and rewrote the rules of rulemaking with their Modernizing Regulatory Review directive (Executive Order 14,094).

These updates are vitally important as the Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron Doctrine still leaves progressives with many tools in their toolbox to work around Congress and pursue their regulatory hopes. Ultimately, Paul and Cammack's updated REINS Act is a big step in restoring accountability to the administrative state and in ensuring that the American people are governed by their duly elected representatives, rather than by unaccountable bureaucrats."

Ryan Young, CEI Senior Economist said: "Regulatory agencies seem to think they can make any rules they want. The REINS Act was already an important reminder that Congress has lawmaking powers, and executive agencies do not. The new version's expanded protections make REINS even more urgent to pass."

• By: John Berlau
• 09/18/2024

In Tom Smith and The Incredible Bread Machine, the famous political poem about an inventor at first hailed for his machine that slashes the…

Business and Government

• By: Izam Karukappadath,Stone Washington
• 09/18/2024

Abstract Formal agency adjudication reserves the final decision-making authority to the political leadership of the agency. Many organizations and watchdogs have taken issue with how…

Legal

• By: Stone Washington
• 09/18/2024

Formal agency adjudication reserves the final decision-making authority to the political leadership of the agency. Many organizations and watchdogs have taken issue with how political…

Business and Government