03.17.23
Lankford, Thune Introduce Regulatory Reform Bill
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced
the Regulatory Transparency Act, legislation that would hold the Biden
administration accountable by requiring federal agencies to conduct a more
transparent and objective analysis of the impacts proposed regulations have on
the economy. The bill would also require agencies to justify the regulation and
consider less burdensome ways of meeting the measure’s goal.
“There are thousands of federal regulations that govern
every business in the US – which are eventually costs passed on to customers,” said
Lankford. “The government should think through the real cost of regulations
to the American people. The Regulatory Transparency Act will require federal
agencies to thoroughly analyze new regulatory requirements to ensure they do
not burden the American people.”
“All too often, federal agencies issue overly burdensome
regulations without adequately assessing the impact on consumers and small
businesses,” said Thune. “Unfortunately, this lack of transparency
has become commonplace in the Biden administration. My legislation would hold
government agencies accountable by enforcing rules that require them to analyze
the economic impacts of onerous regulations before imposing them on the
economy.”
The Regulatory Transparency Act would:
- Require a Thorough Regulatory Impact Analysis: For economically significant rules, agencies must undertake a regulatory impact analysis that is transparent, replicable, objective; considers the impact on all sizes of business; and takes into account the cumulative burden from other regulations.
- Require Consideration of Sunset Dates: Requires agencies to consider whether a sunset date is appropriate for the significant rule under consideration, including an analysis of whether the rule could become outdated in light of changed circumstances or become excessively burdensome after a period of time.
- Expand Judicial Review: Subject the regulatory impact analyses conducted for significant rules to judicial review, increasing the incentive for agencies to be truly objective and transparent in conducting a regulatory impact analysis.
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal
agencies to undertake a regulatory impact analysis for economically significant
regulations in order to determine whether the benefits of a regulation will
exceed costs. However, most federal agencies opt to first move forward with a
regulation and then use cherry-picked data to overstate its benefits and
understate its costs. Creating a more rigorous, objective, and transparent
process would force agencies to weigh any risks when evaluating the effects of
burdensome regulations.
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