House GOP votes to increase congressional authority over federal rulemaking

House Republicans on Wednesday approved a bill that seeks to increase congressional authority over the federal rulemaking process, a move that would usurp power from government agencies in favor of elevating elected lawmakers.

The legislation — titled the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act (REINS) Act — cleared the chamber in a largely party-line 221-210 vote. One Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) — broke from the party and supported the measure.

The measure was initially scheduled to be considered in the House last week, but the vote was delayed because 11 conservatives launched a revolt in the chamber that halted floor action for nearly a week. The GOP rebels were protesting the debt limit deal struck by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden, which was signed into law earlier this month to avoid a default.

The impasse, however, finally broke Tuesday when the 11 conservatives agreed to advance the REINS Act and four other bills to the floor, unleashing them for final votes.

Republicans have argued Congress should have control over the federal rulemaking process rather than federal agencies because the officials that run them are not elected by voters.

“It’s long past time we limit the rampant executive overreach that makes up the fourth branch of government and rein in the nameless, faceless bureaucrats in basements across Washington, D.C.,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), the sponsor of the bill, wrote in a statement following the vote.

The measure would require that all major rules proposed by federal agencies be approved by Congress before taking effect. 

A “major rule,” according to the legislation, is any federal rule or regulation that may have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; leads to a significant increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies or geographic regions; or one that has a notably unfavorable effect on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation or the capacity of enterprises in the U.S. to compete with foreign initiatives.

Although the bill has little chance of being considered by the Democratic-led Senate, let alone signed into law by President Biden, it would represent a major shift in the federal rulemaking process and strip significant authority from the executive.

It could also undercut the influence of agency experts and outside advocates that contribute to the rulemaking process.

Federal agencies have broad authority to issue rules — but that power in many ways stems from Congress. Congress regularly calls on agencies to craft the regulations needed to carry out policies approved by lawmakers.

The rulemaking process requires a public notice and comment period, and agencies are required to show they considered the feedback from the public in crafting their final rule. Regulations also often include a cost-benefit analysis, requiring agencies to show regulations are needed despite any costs they may impose on the industry. The final rule generally takes effect no less than 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register by the agency.

The bill was opposed by pro-regulation groups, arguing the process is needed to protect consumers — from putting limits on polluting industries to ensuring the safety of food and medication.

But by requiring Congress to vote to approve regulations, advocates argue that inaction alone could be used to block needed guidance. 

“By giving one chamber of Congress veto power over any new significant public health and safety protection, no matter how noncontroversial or sensible it may be, the REINS Act is designed to leverage the dysfunction and obstructionism that plague our political process to block agencies’ efforts to fulfill their statutory mandates to pursue public protections,” Elizabeth Skerry, a regulatory policy expert with Public Citizen, a left-leaning advocacy group, told Congress when it considered the bill in March.

The group also pointed to a train derailment in Ohio as a byproduct of inaction, noting the Trump administration chose not to move forward with a regulation that would have required updated braking systems.

The majority of the Democratic caucus also opposed the measure. During debate on the House floor Tuesday night, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said the bill was “bad legislation” and warned about regulations Republicans could block after the recent floor revolt.

“We are considering this bill just a week after a splinter group of the far-right Republicans voted down a rule and held our legislative calendar hostage all to prove a point about a debt ceiling that already has passed Congress and has been signed by the president,” Nadler said. “Even before this radical move, I had no doubt that the REINS Act would grind to a halt the most impactful actions by our regulatory state.”

“But now after seeing what a handful of members will do to make a point, I am certain we cannot let bad measures like this move forward,” he added.

The Republican-led House has introduced multiple resolutions aimed at blocking Biden administration rules since taking the majority in January. On Wednesday, the chamber cleared a measure that seeks to block a Biden administration rule pertaining to pistol stabilizing braces.

And on Wednesday, the House voted to block a proposed rule from the Biden administration that governs efficiency requirements for gas and electric cooking appliances.

House Republicans included the REINS Act in their bill to raise the debt limit and implement spending cuts, which cleared the chamber in a largely party-line vote in April. It was not, however, incorporated in the debt limit agreement Biden and McCarthy struck, which angered conservatives.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) pointed to the exclusion of the measure from the debt limit agreement when discussing the conservative blockade floor last week.

“I’m not here for failure theater. I’m not here for just the performance of politics. I actually want to produce something for the American people,” Boebert said. “So when Limit, Save, Grow had the REINS Act, a great regulatory reform, included in it and that was ditched on the side of the road, completely surrendered, and then the next week we’re gonna show up to Washington, D.C., and vote on the REINS Act as a standalone bill where we know it’s dead on arrival in the Senate.”

“That is performative theater, and I am not here for that. I’m not doing messaging bills and show votes when we had an opportunity to pass real regulatory reform for the American people,” she added.