McConnell: Republicans Will Use ‘Crystal Clear Mandate’ To ‘Hit The Brakes On Runaway Regulation’
“Literally, on day one, President Biden signed an Executive order that began tearing down the regulatory certainty that Republicans restored… On the whole, President Biden’s agenda has imposed regulatory costs that, by one estimate, surpass $1.8 trillion. That’s trillion with a ‘T’. So it’s safe to say Congress once again has an opportunity”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Congressional Review Act:
“Congress writes the nation’s laws, and the executive branch sticks to enforcing them. That idea is not new. It’s written plainly into our Article One powers in the Constitution. But half a century of ceding legislative authority to an unelected bureaucracy has thrown this balance off-kilter.
“Earlier this year, of course, the Article Three branch quite clearly restored the boundaries on freelance regulatory interpretation in the executive branch.
“But there’s more work to be done to rein in Washington bureaucrats’ expansive interpretation of their powers over working Americans. And fortunately, Congress has a powerful tool called the Congressional Review Act that does exactly that.
“To great effect, Senate Republicans used the CRA to scrap a slew of bureaucratic rules after eight years of runaway regulation under the Obama Administration.
“Republicans worked to end a coal-mining rule that threatened hundreds-of-thousands of workers, including many in Kentucky.
“We took a hammer to a pair of ‘far-reaching’ and ‘aggressive’ Obama-era education rules.
“And we dramatically scaled back D.C. bureaucrats’ control of lands that should be managed with local input.
“Between 2017 and 2018, Republicans used the CRA sixteen times to impose an ambitious regulatory housecleaning that gave farmers and miners, landowners and job creators, small businesses and builders the certainty and confidence to stay producing on American soil.
“We did all of this with hardly any Democratic support.
“So it’s not surprising that under the Biden Administration, Democrats have worked relentlessly to resurrect the Obama Administration’s regulatory regime, from student loan socialism to job-killing energy polices to blatant infringements on property rights.
“Literally, on day one, President Biden signed an Executive order that began tearing down the regulatory certainty that Republicans restored.
“Now, with just over a month left in in the year, the Biden Administration’s 2024 regulations alone amount to the second highest annual total by pages in the Federal Register.
“On the whole, President Biden’s agenda has imposed regulatory costs that, by one estimate, surpass $1.8 trillion. That’s trillion with a ‘T’.
“So it’s safe to say Congress once again has an opportunity.
“Two weeks ago, the American people gave Republicans a legitimate, crystal clear mandate. And come January, we ought to use it to hit the brakes on runaway regulation.”
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Related Issues: Congressional Review Act
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