Republicans take next step in U.S.
deregulation with Senate bill
Send a link to a friend
[April 27, 2017]
By Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers
launched the next round in their fight against federal regulation on
Wednesday, helped by at least one Democrat, as the U.S. Senate began
work on legislation to change nearly every step agencies take in
creating and applying new rules.
Republicans have said they deem lightening federal regulation, which
they consider costly and burdensome, as much a priority as overhauling
healthcare and rewriting the tax code.
For most of President Donald Trump's first 100 days, the Republican-led
Congress attacked regulation by passing resolutions to wipe some of
former Democratic President Barack Obama's rules off the books under the
Congressional Review Act. Trump also ordered agencies to scrap two
existing rules every time they enact a new one.
Just before Trump's January inauguration, the House of Representatives
passed the "Regulatory Accountability Act," combining a half dozen bills
to radically change government regulation.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/27/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
On Wednesday, Senator Rob Portman, a Ohio Republican, and Senator Heidi
Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, introduced a version of the act for
that chamber. If it passes, the bill will be combined with the House
version for Trump to sign into law.
The bill would bring "our outdated federal regulatory process into the
21st Century by requiring agencies to use the best scientific and
economic data available, strengthening checks and balances, and giving
the public a voice in the process," Portman said in a statement.
It requires stricter cost-benefit analysis, use of the "best available
science" to craft rules, and reviews of regulations, according to a
summary.
The bill diverges from the House version on what is known as the
"Chevron Deference," based on a Supreme Court ruling that courts should
defer to agencies' interpretations of statutes governing their
rulemaking.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/042717pics/news_u41.jpg)
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks about healthcare reform
with House Republicans during a press briefing on Capitol Hill in
Washington, U.S., April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/27/images/ads/current/gracelutheran_lda_EASTER_2017.png)
The House legislation eliminates the Chevron Deference, while the
Senate one creates a judicial review process where courts can decide
if agencies comply with the law and then remand non-compliant rules
to agencies. Courts would also review factual determinations used in
drafting rules costing more than $1 billion annually.
Environmental and labor groups said the Senate bill could block
needed new regulations and weaken existing ones.
"This bill would tilt the scales in favor of polluters at the
public’s expense," said Scott Slesinger, legislative director of the
Natural Resources Defense Council. "It would make it virtually
impossible to safeguard the public from dirty air, unsafe drinking
water and other health threats.”
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/27/images/ads/current/christian_village_sda_031616.png) |