Week ahead: Reg reform bill hits House floor

Republicans will press for regulatory reform before leaving for their month-long summer recess.

The House is expected to approve the controversial Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would give Congress the power to block regulations from the Obama administration. http://bit.ly/1CVugxW

The House Rules Committee will sign off Monday on the measure introduced by Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.), at which point it will go to the floor for a final vote before the end of the week, the majority leader’s office confirmed.

{mosads}This will be the third time in four years that the House has passed the REINS Act. What’s different this time around is that the regulatory reform bill could also see action in the Senate, which is now controlled by Republicans.

The upper chamber’s measure was introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and has garnered support from 36 Republican co-sponsors; it’s has yet to be taken up by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. But even though the GOP controls the Senate, it’s unlikely to find enough Democrats to get the 60 votes required to pass legislation in the upper chamber.

The REINS Act is very controversial. Republicans say it’s a way to keep in check the administration’s regulatory powers, but Democrats fear the measure would give the GOP a green light to block much-needed public protections.

The regulatory reform measure would give Congress final say over any rule with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more. Federal agencies would be required to submit major rules to Congress for approval before they could take effect. This would all but guarantee Republicans the ability to block dozens of controversial rules from the Obama administration and drastically slow the pace of regulations.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law and whether the country is more prosperous in the five years since it took effect.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday to discuss reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and combating sexual assaults on college campuses.

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