The House brought Republicans one step closer to significantly rolling back federal regulations on Wednesday, when it passed the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act by a vote of 240-185.
The bill aims to reduce the cost of all federal regulations by 15 percent. It would establish a Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission charged with scouring the federal code for costly “major” rules. Commissioners would identify rules that have been in place for at least 15 years that they believe could be enforced more efficiently without loss of effectiveness.
They would then recommend repealing those rules. Congress would have final say, as a joint resolution would be required before any rule is actually repealed.
The commission would disband after five years.
“We finally have a president in the White House who will put an end to the ‘Washington knows best’ mentality that has polluted our nation’s capital for the past eight years,” declared the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. “Our efforts in the SCRUB Act are to simply codify and make easier the process President Trump has already started.”
Smith maintains that compliance with all federal rules has cost businesses and others affected by them $2 trillion.
“I am hopeful that Senate Minority Leader [Chuck] Schumer will allow Senate Democrats to vote their conscience and give the American people a say in the regulatory process,” he said in noting the bill passed the House with some Democratic help.
