Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) recently reintroduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would strengthen oversight of federal regulations.
The Regulatory Review Improvement Act would require federal agencies to regularly review, update or eliminate rules that impose excessive burdens on small businesses. While current law requires reviews of existing regulations, reviews are only required every 10 years and agencies can postpone reviews for an additional five years without explanation. The bill would limit review delays to no more than one year and require agencies to provide a clear justification for extensions.
Agencies would be required to conduct comprehensive evaluations of existing regulations, including qualitative and quantitative assessments, that examine the actual costs imposed, compliance burdens and paperwork hours accumulated since a rule took effect. Agencies then would be required to determine whether regulations still serve their intended purpose or should be modified or eliminated.
“When rules sit on the books for years without a real review, costs grow, paperwork piles up, and small businesses get buried in red tape,” Meuser said. “This bill brings common sense back to the regulatory process by requiring agencies to take a hard look at the real-world impact of their rules and justify whether they should stay in place.”