As a new Congress begins, Republicans have made it clear that regulatory reform is a priority that puts the interest of all Americans first, especially concerning the economy. It’s been said that sometimes government rules “have gotten out of balance, placing unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs.”

It is in fact President Barack Obama who made that statement in 2011 in his appeal “to strike the right balance” in executive rulemaking. In an outstanding contradiction to the spirit of these words, the current administration brought our regulatory burden to a bloated $1.88 trillion in 2015—meaning that on average, each U.S. household is bearing an annual economic weight of $15,000. This underscores the reality that unchecked regulations hit business and family finances without distinction.

That’s where the REINS Act comes in. Federal agencies currently have the power to make “major rules”—ones that have an economic impact of $100 million or more—without the oversight of Congress or the signature of the president. The REINS Act would put in place meaningful checks on agency overreach by requiring congressional approval and the president’s signature for major rules. Absent these checks, we fall victim to oppressive regulations like the Department of Labor’s overtime rule, which hurts the very people it is trying to help and imposes unworkable burdens on businesses, universities, and employees.

In 2015, the Department of Labor raised the salary threshold under which people are eligible for overtime from $23,660 to $47,476. While the rule seems like it would provide more overtime pay to more people, the economic effect is that it smothers job creators.

As it stands, the Congressional Review Act of 1996 represents the only recourse Congress has for reversing harmful rules without having to scale the great wall of the filibuster. All but one of the joint resolutions of disapproval that Congress has passed under the Congressional Review Act have been vetoed by the president. As a tool for checking executive overreach, the Congressional Review Act is begging for improvement, which the REINS Act offers by amending the original legislation.

If the overtime rule had been subject to a vote by Congress before it was enacted, as the REINS Act would require, American workers could have been spared the consequences of the heavy-handed and poorly crafted regulation. Yet support for the REINS Act is not merely practical—it is also constitutional.

Article One of the Constitution assigns the responsibility of lawmaking to a House and Senate made up of elected officials, and it does so in order to ensure that the people who are affected by federal laws and regulations have in say in how those rules are made. Without the balance that the REINS Act offers, Americans and their economy remain subject to the decisions and missteps of unelected bureaucrats, who seem agonizingly unable to “strike the right balance” between helpful and harmful rules.

Executive agency overreach is, at heart, a constitutional issue, and one that the REINS Act remedies in a way that reformers in both parties should be able to support. If made law, this legislation would require agencies to submit their major regulations for congressional approval before they could go into effect, and both chambers would be required to accept or reject the rule within 70 legislative days.

The president’s signature would also be required for any of Congress’s joint resolutions on a major rule to take effect. Agency regulations with economic impacts of under $100 million would remain unaffected by the REINS Act.

The bill is not retroactive, so Republicans haven’t devised it as a way to blot out the actions of a previous administration and the agencies it oversaw. It’s also not unwieldy from a legislative perspective, adding only 50-100 votes to the congressional calendar each year. What we’ve done is to craft a way to move forward with legislative business and restore accountability to the legislative process while better protecting our economy from suffocating regulations that Americans never voted to enact.

The current president has said balance in federal regulations is necessary, and President-elect Donald Trump has said the REINS Act will help guarantee that balance, promising that he would sign this “major step toward getting our government under control” were the bill to reach his desk.

The REINS Act brings transparency, accountability, and constitutional balance to the branches of government regardless of which party controls those branches, and it returns power to the electorate by making sure that their votes have a voice in major federal rulemaking.

Greetings from the office of Congressman Doug Collins,

This morning, the Congressman led colleagues on the floor in outlining some of Obamacare’s biggest failures and to highlight the commitment of Republicans to listen to the American people throughout the health care reform process. In fact, despite the “selective amnesia” of some people in the health care conversations, what is being clearly heard is that Obamacare has failed Americans in a comprehensive way—in terms of cost, choice, and, most importantly, quality of and access to care.

Please find a link to the Congressman’s comments here, and let me know if our team can help in any way contribute to the crucial discussions of American health care.

WASHINGTON—Congressman Doug Collins introduced H.R. 26, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, today in one of the first acts of the 115^th Congress. As Republicans prepare to lead a unified government for the first time since 2006, upcoming bills demonstrate that they have made regulatory reform a priority.

Currently, executive agencies can unilaterally enact rules that have major economic consequences for Americans. The REINS Act would require all new major rules—those that have an impact of $100 million or more—to be approved by both Congress and the president.

“The REINS Act is one of the first bills of this Congress to target the regulatory abuses of the executive branch. For too long, executive overreach has fostered burdensome regulations that hamper growth at the expense of hardworking Americans. It’s time Congress reasserts its Constitutional authority to legislate, rather than letting unelected bureaucrats institute rules that impact the economy to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Congressman Collins.

“This legislation signals our commitment, as a party, to modeling reform that puts smart policy above tired politicking, and I’m excited to see it come to the House floor later this week.”

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the REINS Act on January 5.

June 10, 2016

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 2137, the Federal Law Enforcement Self Defense and Protection Act. The bill, which passed by unanimous consent, would ensure that federal law enforcement officers are allowed to carry their federally permitted and authorized firearms during a lapse in funding or furlough. Congressman Collins, who authored the bill, issued the following statement after Senate passage:

“This common sense legislation will allow federal law enforcement officers to protect themselves and the public even in the event of a furlough or lapse in funding. My father was a Georgia State Trooper, so I know the dangerous situations that can arise while on the job. As a law enforcement officer, my dad was always ready to intervene if necessary.”

“Crime does not stop for federal appropriations funding, and our laws and policies should reflect that. Unfortunately, during the 2013 lapse in appropriations, about 1800 federal law enforcement officers were forced to hand over their federally issued weapons. These officers are highly trained, and every other day are trusted and expected to carry firearms. H.R. 2137 will ensure that those who protect us are not needlessly disarmed and that they can continue to protect themselves and the public regardless of duty status.”

“I want to thank Chairman Goodlatte, Representatives Gabbard, Reichert, and Pascrell, and Senator Toomey, for their tireless support and leadership on this issue and their work to move H.R. 2137 forward.”

H.R. 2137 passed the House of Representatives on May 10, 2016, by a voice vote, and the bill will now go to the President’s desk for signature.

Congressman Collins Votes to End IRS Targeting of Conservatives

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act. The bill would prevent the IRS from requiring confidential donor information from individuals other than officers or the most highly paid employees of non-profit and tax-exempt organizations. Currently, non-profit 501(c) organizations must disclose personally identifiable information of donors to the IRS using Form 990 Schedule B. Schedule B is unnecessary to the validation process for an organization’s tax exempt status, but nonetheless is currently part of the annual tax return non-profit organizations are required to file. Congressman Collins issued the following statement after the vote:

“After the IRS targeting scandal was revealed in in 2013, numerous allegations about their misuse of taxpayer information have continued to come to light. It is clear that we can no longer trust the IRS with information about Americans’ personal, religious, and political convictions. It is sad that charities and non-profits have become a tool to target people, especially conservatives, for exploitation. Currently, organizations must submit an unnecessary form as part of the their tax filing that contains personal information about their donors, and how much money those donors contributed.”

“The IRS doesn’t even need this information to process the organization’s status, and there has never been a clear reason why organizations are required to submit it. In the past, IRS employees have leaked confidential information contained in the Schedule B form to the media or outside organizations, and eliminating certain requirements on the Schedule B form will help remove the potential for abuse. This legislation will protect American’s personal information, and fight against state-sanctioned harassment by the IRS.”

June 14, 2016

Collins: DC Circuit Court Ruling Will Hamper Internet Speeds in Northeast Georgia

Washington, D.C. – Today, the D.C. Circuit Court upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to regulate Internet Service Providers. Congressman Collins, who introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives last year to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality rule, issued the following statement on the ruling:

“We can’t regulate our way to new innovation, and restrict the development of technology in the marketplace. The FCC’s rule is overreaching and unnecessary, which I why I previously introduced a resolution to stop this rule that would slow Internet speeds, increase consumer prices and hamper infrastructure development, including in Northeast Georgia.”

“Today’s Circuit Court ruling is a blow to internet freedom, and Congressional authority. Federal agencies should not be allowed to rewrite the law to suit political whims, and it is concerning to see the Court uphold this kind of power grab. This is another example of courts ceding authority to agencies, interpreting the law in a way that favors agency authority over the Separation of Powers. Rather than emboldening the FCC to continue its attempts to stifle innovation in competitive fairness under the false narrative of fairness, I will continue working to rein in the FCC, stimulate competition, and fight for American consumers.”

Starting with the first day of the 115th Congress, House Republicans will try to inject Congress more directly into the minutiae of the nation’s regulatory process.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., plans to reintroduce the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny — or REINS — Act when the new Congress is seated Jan. 3.

The House has passed the REINS Act three times, but each time the legislation died in the Senate.

Now Collins, the House Republican Conference’s new vice chairman, is taking the bill’s reins from Rep. Todd Young, who won Indiana’s open Senate seat in November.

“Our country is in desperate need of increased accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process,” Collins wrote in a “dear colleague” letter seeking co-sponsors circulated Tuesday.

Federal “agencies have been crippling our economy with regulation after regulation, effectively legislating from the executive branch while Congress has sat nearly powerless on the sidelines,” he continued. “In 2015 alone, the executive branch issued over 3,000 rules and regulations. Seventy-six of these regulations were “major” regulations — those that produce $100 million or more in economic impact on the U.S. economy.”

The REINS Act would require a joint resolution and the president’s signature before any regulatory agency can finalize new “major” rules.

The House Rules Committee, of which Collins is a member, told lawmakers Tuesday that they must submit any potential amendments by 10 a.m. Jan. 3.

The bill likely will be on the House floor the first week Congress is back.

Collins told the Washington Examiner he believes that President-elect Trump is sympathetic to House Republicans’ efforts to overhaul the way federal agencies promulgate and approve new rules and that he’s optimistic about the REINS Act finally becoming law.