Rolling Back Regulations

U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)

U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-AR):   President Ronald Reagan delivered one of the best lines on how an effective government should operate during his first inaugural address. Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, he told the American people the way to fix Washington was to make government “work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride our back.”

Regulations that protect consumers, borrowers and the environment improve the quality of life for all Americans. They ensure we have safe food to eat, access to credit at fair rates and clean air to breathe.

When agencies overregulate, the rights of law-abiding Americans are ignored and our economic growth comes to a grinding halt. Overbearing, excessive regulations take farmers away from tending to their crops, slow the lines at manufacturing plants and sap resources that could otherwise be put toward hiring more Americans. Someone who normally would be doing work that creates revenue is taken off task for a considerable amount of time to fill out burdensome paperwork.

Overregulation became the norm during President Obama’s administration. Under his direction, agencies issued regulations at such a rapid pace that the New York Times dubbed him the “Regulator-in-Chief.”

Congress has been moving quickly to deliver on its promise to reverse ill-advised and economically damaging Obama-era regulations by using the powers granted to the Senate and the House of Representatives through the Congressional Review Act. This law allows Congress to overturn any new regulation, within sixty days of its submission, with a joint resolution of disapproval.

So far, the Senate has passed resolutions of disapproval to eliminate misguided regulations that:

• threatened thousands of American coal workers’ jobs;
• placed unreasonable compliance burdens on our energy sector; and
• potentially deprived seniors and disabled Americans of their Second Amendment rights without due process.

Confirming Cabinet members is another important step that the Senate will play in this process. The new administration shares this view of overregulation and is putting forth nominees who will work to support our efforts to address it.

Our system of government grants the executive branch the ability to make regulations. In doing so, we entrust agency officials with the responsibility of making sensible rules that do not encroach on our freedoms. When regulations go too far, Congress has a responsibility to protect the rights of the American people. We’ve taken the first steps of many to roll back regulations and I look forward to working with my colleagues and the White House moving forward.

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