U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) joined his colleagues in the House in passing the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 427), to give local job creators relief from the overwhelming burden of federal regulations. The Obama administration issued its 500th major regulation in June, with an estimated cost of $14,976 per U.S. household last year.

"Local business owners have stacks of binders on their desks that are filled with countless pages of crushing regulations that continue to stall daily business, resulting in costly consequences for their bottom-lines. Ultimately, those costs are passed on to families and individuals across the country," said Rogers. "We need to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and allow businesses to operate with commonsense requirements that help them improve productivity. We shouldn't be burying our businesses with costly paperwork and operations."

According to the Congressional Budget Office, federal agencies publish an average of 82 major rules per year. These include the so-called "Clean Power Plan" and "Waters of the United States" regulations published by the Environmental Protection Agency - each of which will threaten thousands of jobs and force employers to pass their compliance costs on to our families. Small communities across Eastern Kentucky are suffering from strangulation by regulation, from our farmlands to our coalfields. 

The REINS Act places authority in the hands of Congress to approve any major new regulation that has the potential to place excessive costs on the economy totaling $100 million or more, increases costs to consumers, or adversely impacts U.S. competitiveness. The legislation curbs unnecessary regulations from unelected federal officials and gives Congress and the American people more oversight and control over the process.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation Tuesday evening and the bill now moves on to the Senate for consideration.

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