Competitive Enterprise Institute report looks at Obama administration executive actions

The Washington Times recently published an article on a report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a Washington think tank, on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, a report that examined the legislation and its goal to reduce executive powers in regulations.

“REINS would help restore the separation of powers outlined in the U.S. Constitution by making Congress accountable for the regulatory costs it imposes on the American people,” the CEI report said. “Congress has increasingly delegated away its legislative powers to executive branch agencies.”

According to the CEI, the Obama administration finalized 3,406 regulations in 2015, while Congress and the president only enacted 114 laws, figures the libertarian think tank takes issue with.

“If members of Congress must publicly put their name to an unpopular or burdensome regulation, they are less likely to let it stand,” CEI Fellow Ryan Young, the report’s author, said.

The Washington Times article cited the potential for Obama administration midnight regulations as a factor in renewed interest in the REINS Act and Young’s report.