House lawmakers are preparing to pass a bill to make it easier for President-elect Donald Trump to meet his promise of rolling back federal regulations.
Senior House leadership aides told Politico Republicans are planning votes on the REINS Act, which would require Congress to approve major regulations, and allow lawmakers to repeal a slew of “midnight” regulations all at once.
Congress can already use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal some Obama-era regulations, as will the Midnight Rules Relief Act once it’s signed into law by Trump. That bill passed thought the House in December, but probably won’t go anywhere until the next Congress.
Trump promised to roll back many Obama-era regulations during his campaign, especially rules holding back American energy production.
“On energy, I will cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy – including shale energy and clean coal – creating many millions of high-paying jobs,” Trump said.
The Obama administration plans on releasing $44 billion worth of “midnight” regulations before President Barack Obama leaves office on Jan. 21. That includes $5.1 billion worth of environmental regulations from the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Department of Energy (DOE) also plans on releasing regulations for home efficiency standards (a $5.5 billion price tag) and power supplies ($4.6 billion), according to the right-leaning American Action Forum (AFF).
DOE also plans on publishing new standards for boilers and ovens (each has a $800 million plus price tag).
Most of the “midnight” rules won’t go into effect, but Republican-backed new laws could get them off the books completely.
Regulatory experts have already identified as many as 150 regulations a Republican-controlled Congress could repeal under the CRA. Those actions would require Trump’s signature.
The Obama administration has finalized nearly $100 billion worth of new regulations this year, according to AAF.
Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.