This week, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., reintroduced a proposal to “reduce burdensome government regulations and more efficiently dispose of outdated, duplicative or unnecessary agency regulations” and which “will create a mechanism to eliminate multiple regulations originating from federal executive branch agencies in a joint resolution.”
Scott brought back the “Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act” with eight Republican co-sponsors and the support of 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.
“Washington’s complete dysfunction is on full display,” Scott said. “Everywhere you look you see a confusing web of outdated regulations, duplicative processes and burdensome red tape within our federal agencies, some of which haven’t been reviewed or used by these agencies for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. 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.”
“Washington’s confusing web of regulations creates headaches and expenses for Americans in every industry. Our bill would eliminate outdated and duplicative regulations so that businesses can thrive,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., one of the co-sponsors.
Kevin Kuhlman, the vice president of federal government relations at NFIB, explained why his organization was backing the proposal.
“Since 2021, President Biden has imposed a historic regulatory burden on businesses. These burdens fall disproportionately on small businesses that do not have lawyers or compliance officers to assist with onerous requirements. NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center has also demonstrated that federal agencies often disregard the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act to consider the impacts of regulations on small businesses. Small businesses across the country appreciate Senator Rick Scott’s focus on examining regulatory accumulation through legislation like the Unnecessary Agency Regulations Reduction Act. We look forward to working with the Senator on ways to reduce the regulatory burdens and red tape that make operating and growing a small business more difficult,” said Kuhlman.
Scott’s bill would have the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 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.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. House.
Author
