Goodlatte, Issa, and Marino Praise House Passage of Bill to Stop Midnight Regulations

Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), and Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman, and sponsor of the bill, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), issued the following statements upon the House’s passage of the Midnight Rules Relief Act (H.R. 5982) by a vote of 240-179. Chairman Goodlatte: “President Obama’s regulatory agenda has already cost hardworking Americans hundreds of billions of dollars over the last eight years. Now, the president expects Americans to cover an additional burden of at least an estimated $113 billion in new regulatory costs imposed during the final months of the Obama Administration. “The new regulations President Obama intends to force upon the American people are partisan, costly, and overly broad. These regulations are in the fast lane for approval, without sufficient transparency or the proper time for the American people to comment and have their views taken fully into account. The practice of midnight regulation does a disservice to the American people, and today’s action by Congress stops abuse of this practice.” Subcommittee Chairman Issa: “This bipartisan bill is about reviving the separation of powers to ensure our laws are written by the Representatives we actually vote for – not unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats who are on their way out the door. Presidents of both parties have made habit of enacting scores of last-minute regulations, with little oversight, to sneak in as much of their agenda as possible before the clock runs out on their time in office. The bill helps ensure this President, and any future president, will be held in check and that their policies have the proper level of scrutiny by both Congress and the American people. I’m pleased to see the House pass this important measure and look forward to its quick passage by our colleagues in the Senate.” Subcommittee Chairman Marino: “Over the past 8 years, the executive branch has expanded the regulatory state beyond belief. The burden of these excessive regulations almost always falls on the backs of hard-working families and businesses. Passing a slew of midnight regulations without the proper time for review and in order to avoid the people’s elected representatives is especially disconcerting. “The Midnight Rules Relief Act will not only deter lame duck presidents from shuffling in last minute regulations, but will create a an efficient method for the incoming congress to express its disapproval and reverse them. Our government owes it to the American people to be transparent and forthright in the rules we make. This bill ensures new regulations will be properly vetted and in full public view.” Background: The Midnight Rules Relief Act creates a rapid-response method for Congress to overturn an outgoing presidential administration’s attempts to impose major regulations without the transparency and scrutiny expected in normal regulatory implementation. The bill specifically amends the Congressional Review Act(CRA) to allow Congress to overturn multiple midnight rules and empowers Congress to more quickly stop midnight rules which are truly problematic—such as those that defy the message sent by the voters or those that have been poorly designed in the haste of the midnight rule period. Click here to learn more about the bill. ###