Week ahead: GOP weighs ‘regulatory budget’ to curb agencies

Senate Republicans are taking a close look at the idea of a “regulatory budget” that would limit federal agencies’ rule-making abilities.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Budget Committee will hold a joint hearing Tuesday to discuss the “true cost of regulation.” At the hearing, lawmakers will explore different ways to hold federal agencies accountable for the regulations they issue.

One possibility Republicans are considering is establishing a regulatory budget that would track the financial burdens government rules place on businesses.

{mosads}With a regulatory budget, the estimated costs of each rule would be added up and capped at a yet-to-be-determined amount, curbing regulations from federal agencies.

Expensive rules, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone rule, which industry groups call the most costly regulation in history, could face a tougher path.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a 2016 presidential contender, suggested creating a regulatory budget last year in a speech hosted by Google. http://j.mp/1iIcb01

“That regulatory code needs a taste of its own medicine,” Rubio said at the time. “It needs to be restrained and restricted.” 

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the House Education and the Workforce subcommittee on education will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss child nutrition assistance programs and the cost of compliance for states and schools.

The House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee will also meet Wednesday to discuss the rising cost of health insurance premiums under ObamaCare.

And the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to discuss the U.S. country-of-origin-labeling rule and possible trade retaliation.

The House Financial Services oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday to examine allegations of discrimination and retaliation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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