Today, Senator Rand Paul and Representative Kat Cammack reintroduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act in the 118th United States Congress. This proposed reform requires congressional approval before any costly executive branch rules can be implemented, particularly those with an annual cost of $100 million or more.
The Biden-Harris administration has enacted nearly 200 major regulations since 2021, totaling approximately $1.7 trillion in new costs for American businesses and families. This spending is attributed to rising inflation and increasing living expenses.
"Four years of unprecedented executive branch spending and a record-setting stream of new rules from unelected bureaucrats in Washington have caused the price of everything to go up at the same time the value of every dollar has gone down," said Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability. "The REINS Act would empower Congress to free working families from the suffocating weight of the Biden-Harris bureaucracy and cure the cost-of-living crisis dimming the American Dream."
The REINS Act aims to give Americans a tool to control regulation and spending by restoring Congress's budgetary authority. It also enhances oversight over agency guidance documents often used to bypass congressional review, especially following the Loper Bright decision that nullified agency deference in court cases involving administrative rules.
"The REINS Act cuts to the core of the fundamental question facing our nation at this critical moment in history: Do we want our future determined by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., or the elected representatives closest to the people?" added Bragdon.
In its current session, Congress saw more than 200 cosponsors for this bill across both chambers, highlighting its popularity. The House previously passed it as part of another legislative package last year.