Rolling Back Damaging Regulations

US Congressman John Culberson Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Republicans are keeping their word to rein in burdensome rules and regulations. The House has passed several bills aimed at reducing unnecessary rules that have hurt families and businesses over the last eight years. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is an oversight tool that Congress uses to overturn a rule issued by a federal agency. When an agency issues a rule they must submit a report on these activities to Congress. When unelected bureaucrats create unnecessary rules they abuse our hard-earned tax dollars and create more red tape. At the end of the Obama Administration many agencies rushed through harmful regulations. This has prompted the House to use the CRA to roll back these costly rules. This week the House voted to roll back a Department of Labor (DOL) rule that impacts Americas retirement savers. For decades there have been strict standards for employer-provided retirement plans to protect Americas workers. In 2016 the Obama Administration created a regulation establishing a safe harbor that paved the way for government-run IRAs. As a result some small businesses would be forced to automatically enroll employees in government-run IRAs with fewer protections. Many government-run pension plans are already severely underfunded and put the burden on taxpayers to foot the bill to keep the promises made by state and local governments. The DOLs regulation would put taxpayers at an even greater risk of bailing out failing pension plans. In response the House passed H.J. Res. 66and H.J. Res 67 which prevents this harmful regulation from taking effect and shields taxpayers from paying for failed government-run retirement plans. This is just one example of unnecessary regulations that continue to harm Americans. The Obama Administration created 20642 new regulations which cost more than $100 billion annually. These burdensome regulations waste tax dollars and stifle the economy. It is Congress constitutional responsibility to provide oversight on federal agencies and under Republican leadership these harmful federal regulations will be rolled back. It is an honor and a privilege to represent you and Texas in the United States House.