WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) today introduced the Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act to reduce burdensome government regulations and more efficiently dispose of outdated, duplicative, or unnecessary agency regulations. This legislation will create a mechanism to eliminate multiple regulations originating from federal executive branch agencies in a joint resolution.
“Burdensome federal regulations and red tape hinder America’s economic growth and diminish Idahoans’ desire to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures,” said Risch. “It is past time to weed out – like we have in Idaho – duplicative, outdated, and absurd regulations. With the Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act, Congress would create a streamlined process to monitor and audit federal regulations in order to more easily and quickly remove futile regulations that have long plagued business owners.”
“America is not made strong by a large central government that overspends,” said Crapo. “By limiting the federal government’s size and reach, we can help reduce spending and restore the balance of power established in the U.S. Constitution. Congress should advance legislation helping to take a fresh look at federal agency operations to identify how federal functions can be updated and simplified.”
“Washington’s complete dysfunction is on full display. Everywhere you look you see a confusing web of outdated regulations, duplicative processes and burdensome red tape within our federal agencies, some of which haven’t been reviewed or used by these agencies for decades. It’s inefficient and a complete waste of tax dollars,” said Scott. “Our Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act will streamline the federal government to make it work better for the American people. We did this in Florida when I was governor, cutting more than 5,000 burdensome regulations, and businesses thrived. With Joe Biden and Democrats’ overreaching and inflation-fueling policies hurting American families, it’s about time we bring this commonsense approach nationwide.”
Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) joined Risch, Crapo, and Scott in cosponsoring this legislation.
The Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act is endorsed by Heritage Action, FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the National Taxpayers Union, the R Street Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
The Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act would create the following process:
- Beginning two years after enactment, the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will annually—
- Compile and maintain a list of all planned agency major rules or sets of major rules for the period covered by the submission; and
- Compile a list of outdated, duplicative or burdensome agency regulations to consolidate or repeal.
- OIRA will also consider GAO’s Duplication Overlap and Fragmentation (DOF) annual audit of programs to identify any duplicative, outdated, or burdensome regulations associated with the programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives identified in their report.
- The OIRA Administrator will include the list of major rules in each of the President’s Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions reports.
- No later than 30 days after the OIRA Administrator submits the list of major rules to Congress, each appropriate congressional committee shall review and then compile the final list of regulations to consolidate or repeal into a single joint resolution.
- This legislation is tied to the Congressional Review Act, which requires the measure to receive expedited consideration in each house of Congress.
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