Competitive Enterprise Institute urges more regulatory reforms

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) said it is turning its attention to the proposed Regulatory Accountability Act now that another regulatory reform measure, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, was advanced to the Senate after passage in the House.

The REINS Act would allow for congressional leaders to have a say in yearly regulations which cost more $100 million. These passed regulations often are “between 1 and 2 percent of the more than 3,500 regulations agencies pass in most years,” Ryan Young, a CEI fellow, said in an article on CEI's website.

While the REINS Act allows for review by leaders, the Regulatory Accountability Act “would directly benefit consumers and entrepreneurs,” Young said.

Introduced in the House by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the Regulatory Accountability Act seeks to “require agencies to use less costly regulations, enable the judiciary to ‘end judicial deference to bureaucrats’ statutory and regulatory interpretations, require agencies to explain how their actions affect small business owners and would require them to publish transparency reports," Young said.

Hopeful for more regulatory reform, Young said, “RAA is certainly better than what we have now. Let’s see what Congress does with it.”