GOP’s regs offensive faces Obama veto threat

The White House on Tuesday issued a veto threat in advance of the House’s passage of a legislative package designed to rein in the federal government’s regulatory authority.

The Jobs for America Act is a compilation of more than a dozen bills, half of which take direct aim at regulations by adding new restrictions to agency rulemaking or by giving Congress more control over the process.

{mosads}The White House derided the legislation, contending that it “would throw all major regulations into a months-long limbo, marking a significant departure from the longstanding separation of powers between the Executive and Legislative branches and fostering uncertainty and impeding business investment that is vital to economic growth.”

“Furthermore, the bill would impose other unnecessary requirements on agencies that would seriously undermine their ability to execute their statutory mandates,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a policy statement.

Many of the bills contained in the package have passed the House before, only to stall in the Democratic controlled Senate.


Among them are the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would require congressional sign-off on the costliest regulations, and the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, which would force additional analysis before rules are issued and public disclosure of their “true cost.”

The bill would also repeal the Affordable Care Act’s regulation defining a 30-hour workweek as full-time employment.

“[T]he Administration welcomes ideas to improve the Affordable Care Act,” OMB said.   “However, (the legislation) would undermine that Act by shifting costs to taxpayers and causing fewer Americans to have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.”

Were the bill to land on Obama’s desk, his senior advisors would recommend he veto it.