Regulatory reform bill targets outdated rules

Senate Republicans are undertaking a new effort to repeal what they see as outdated and unnecessary regulations.

The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act spearheaded by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is a controversial regulatory reform bill that has divided lawmakers along party lines in recent years.

The regulatory reform measure would encourage federal agencies to do away with costly regulations that are no longer necessary.

“We need to take the responsibility of reviewing old regulations away from the bureaucrats that keep failing at that task,” Hatch said in a statement.

A bipartisan regulatory commission would be established to identify duplicative rules as well as those that have been in effect for more than 15 years and have become obsolete.

Based on the commission’s recommendations, Congress would then vote on whether to repeal those regulations. 

Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined Hatch in reintroducing the SCRUB Act.