They've have named it "Stop Government Abuse Week" and they've got a full tub of bills designed to curb the federal government's rule-making authority. That's the agenda set by Republicans in the House for Wednesday and Thursday. They presumably think this will hit a pleasant note on the home turf they'll be visiting during the August recess that is slated to begin at the end of this week.
See, they can say to constituents who currently hold Congress in ultra-low esteem,
we're actually doing something worthwhile. And, of course, there are those even more important constituents, the corporate ones actually being regulated.
Organizations that believe regulations are important for the health, safety and environmental well-being of the nation have a different view:
“Apparently, they’re trying to equate the functions of various federal agencies with abuse, and I don’t think that resonates well,” said Rachel Weintraub, legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America.
She calls the whole effort political theater since chances are slim to nil that any of this will clear the Senate: “I think it’s a show. They want to do something they can point to, going into the recess. This fits into their anti-regulatory narrative.”
Top of the list, writes Ben Goad at The Hill is the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 367). This would place approval in the hands of Congress for any federal rule costing $100 million or more a year. Just one more barrier added to getting anything done. The proposal has been introduced in the past three Congresses. The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards—a coalition of public interest, labor and consumer groups—has sent a letter to House members urging them to reject REINS.
Others on the list:
• Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013 (H.R. 2009). Would keep the IRS from implementing any part of Obamacare.
• Government Customer Service Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 1660). Requires the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to develop government-wide standards for customer service delivery.
• Government Spending Accountability Act of 2013 (H.R. 313). Requires each federal agency to post on its public website detailed information on employee presentations at conferences, including: (1) the prepared text of any verbal presentation; and (2) any visual, digital, video, or audio materials presented, including photographs, slides, and audio-visual recordings.
• Common Sense in Compensation Act of 2013 (H.R. 1541). Prohibits any discretionary monetary payment to an employee of a federal executive agency that would cause the employee's total covered compensation to exceed 105 percent of such employee's basic pay.