Earlier this month the House of Representatives passed one of the most dangerous bills – the REINS Act. Under the REINS Act, major regulations that are adopted by an executive agency will need to be approved with a specific resolution in each house of Congress. For the regulation to take effect, it needs to be brought to Congress within 70 days. The new bill will repeal any future acts in the sectors of public health, environment, consumer protection, labor standards, occupational safety and civil rights law. When the bill was put to a vote, the final tally was 237-187. All Republicans and two Democrats (Colin Peterson from Minnesota and Henry Cuellar from Texas) voted in favor of the REINS Act.

The Power of Veto

The REINS Act would put future standard setting at a standstill. As time goes on and new issues arise in the different sectors (environment, health, safety, labor, consumer protection, etc.), the legislation from the past 40 years will be repealed. Congress itself will decide what regulations will remain and/or be enacted. It will be Congress that will approve every regulation in each sector, without public debate or accountability from others. The REINS Act will make it almost impossible to have even the most technical or scientifically valid regulations to be passed unless Congress believes it’s in its best interest.

One example of the troublesome capabilities of the REINS Act is its capacity to alter the Chemical Safety Act that was passed by Congress last year. The states allowed the Chemical Safety Act to pass in order to protect citizens from toxic chemicals. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research and lay out standards for 10 of the most abused chemicals. But under the REINS Act, Congress can prevent the EPA from banning the use of these widely abused chemicals.

Backwards Progress

With the newly established REINS Act, Congress has the ability to hinder the country’s progress towards protecting its people. They’ve also passed another surprising piece of legislation that allows the House Republican caucus to repeal all of President Obama’s regulatory acts from his last eight months in office. It’s highly questionable whether Congress thoroughly investigated these regulatory acts before discrediting them altogether.

What’s also questionable is their competency to review technical pieces of information that will help guide what regulatory acts and rules are needed. They want the decision making to be centralized but can they realistically take on the task of approving every piece of regulatory legislation? It remains unclear whether they can be held accountable and trusted for such a task.

Standing up for the Country’s Regulatory Acts

As citizens, it’s up to us to take a stand against pieces of legislation that give the government unwarranted amounts of power. We must stand up for the progress that has been enacted to keep citizens better protected. Do you want Congress to solely decide the safety standards of your drinking water? Or regulate the chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs that are deemed safe to use?

The REINS Act inhibits public debate on regulatory issues and has made it more difficult for regulatory bodies to pass acts intended to protect the country’s citizens. Unfortunately, the newly established REINS Act has received less media attention than it deserves, so it’s time to spread the word. Citizens should have a say in what pieces of legislation should stay and which ones need to go.