US House backs bill targeting federal regulations

OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2016. Republican lawmakers today approved a bill that would force US government agencies to offset the cost of new regulations by throwing out federal rules already on the books.

The US House in a nearly party-line 245-174 vote approved the broad regulatory reform bill.

Republican today said the bill would slow down a coming wave of energy rules President Barack Obama's administration is racing to finish in his final year in office, including new methane regulations, restrictions on flaring and tougher blowout preventer requirements.

The House bill would create a bipartisan nine-member commission to identify a package of "obsolete" rules that, if repealed, would cut the cost of federal regulation by 15pc. The US Congress could then repeal those rules with an up-or-down vote, so long as it was not vetoed by the president.

The bill also includes a "cut-go" provision that would require federal agencies to cut the costs of existing regulations of offset the costs of new rules. Democrats complain this would create roadblocks for needed environmental and energy sector regulations. Another concern is it could require agencies to undo effective regulations.

President Barack Obama's administration on 5 January threatened to veto the bill. The White House said it was concerned the commission would end up creating a "haphazard" list of rules for repeal. It said the cut-go part of the bill would "seriously undermine" the ability of agencies to function.

The veto threat, along with opposition from Senate Democrats, means there is little chance for the bill to advance any further this year. But it could serve as a framework for regulatory reforms that Republicans hope to roll out if they take the White House in the upcoming 2016 elections. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Florida senator Marco Rubio have proposed regulatory budgets as part of their presidential platforms. Those plans have alarmed public interest groups.

"It is realistic to think a Republican president and Republican Congress instituting regulatory reforms of this type," said Public Citizen regulatory policy advocate Amit Narang.

House Republicans voted 244-143 earlier today to approve a separate bill that would make it harder for environmental groups to use lawsuits to force agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to complete delayed regulations by a deadline.