Overnight Regulation: Ryan unveils plan to roll back regulators’ power

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of the news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Tuesday evening here in Washington, where House Republicans unveiled their regulatory agenda and the FCC’s internet rules scored a big legal victory.

Here’s the latest.

 

THE BIG STORY

Congress should have more power over regulators, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) said Tuesday.

“We are calling for Washington to change the very ways it writes rules,” Ryan told reporters as part of a broader GOP policy rollout.

{mosads}”If the proposals that are cooked up in these bureaucracies are really so important, then let the people’s elected representatives decide,” he added. “No major regulations should become law unless Congress takes a vote.”

The Republican regulatory agenda would give lawmakers the authority to reject controversial rules, while federal agencies would be slapped with a regulatory budget.

The GOP plan would also eliminate costly and outdated rules.

Ryan rolled out the plan Tuesday afternoon alongside a dozen other House Republicans.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said business owners should not be treated like “enemies.”

“Regulators [should] respect the people they’re supposed to regulate,” Ryan added.

Republican leaders called for changes to controversial financial, energy, environment, and internet regulations.

The plan also includes broader regulatory reform initiatives such as the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which President Obama has threatened to veto. 

Ryan offered strong support for the REINS Act, which would give lawmakers the final say over controversial regulations. The House passed the legislation last July, but the Senate has yet to move the bill through committee.

Ryan also called for regulators to be held to a budget that would limit their rulemaking activities, but critics say this would handcuff federal agencies.

Republicans would also like to require federal agencies to implement the “least-costly” regulations.

The GOP also plans to take another shot at creating a regulatory commission that has the power to sift through agency rulebooks and eliminate outdated regulations. 

The House passed the Searching for and Cutting Regulations That Are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act in January, but the Senate has yet to take it up. http://bit.ly/1tuYaKW

 

ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing to discuss what barriers girls face globally when it comes to education. http://1.usa.gov/1UqB6Tl

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing to discuss implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, which reauthorizes the federal childcare program. http://1.usa.gov/1sCPXn9

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a meeting to mark up a bill to censor and condemn John Koskinen, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. http://1.usa.gov/1VXqwZd

The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs will hold a hearing to discuss VA’s management of veterans’ paper records. http://1.usa.gov/1Pregcz

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY:

The Obama administration will publish 165 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

–The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) will issue new cybersecurity guidelines.

The cybersecurity guidelines will encourage private companies and organizations to share cyber threats with the federal government.

“This guidance includes explanations of how non-federal entities can identify and share cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with the federal government,” the agencies write. http://bit.ly/21kj0XS

–The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will loosen the restrictions on the use of airport hangers for the “storage of non-aeronautical items.”

The policy issued Tuesday will allow for the storage of amateur-built aircraft that are in the construction process.

“Under Federal law, airport operators… generally may use airport property only for aviation-related purposes unless otherwise approved by the FAA,” the agency writes.

“In some cases, airports have allowed non-aeronautical storage or uses in some hangars intended for aeronautical use, which the FAA has found to interfere with or entirely displace aeronautical use of the hangar.”

The policy goes into effect on July 1, 2017. http://bit.ly/1VXvkxI

–The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will delay new safety measures for trains.

In March, the agency proposed setting minimum requirements for the number of crew members working to operate trains, but will reopen the comment period to give the public more time to consider the changes.

The public will now have until Aug. 15 to comment. http://bit.ly/1Prk6ea

–The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will propose new protections for certain sharks.

Fishing vessels would be required to “promptly release unharmed” porbeagle sharks that are accidentally captured by their nets.

The public has 30 days to comment. http://bit.ly/24OD8C9

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW 

Labor Dept. finalizes new sex discrimination reg http://bit.ly/1ro2mu2

Ryan demands regulators change the way they write rules http://bit.ly/1tuYaKW

Court upholds net neutrality rules http://bit.ly/1Xo4yiU

New neutrality critics vow to fight to Supreme Court http://bit.ly/1Prvre6

Clinton, Sanders applaud net neutrality ruling http://bit.ly/1YqkxN4

Fed give $9.2M to help domestic violence victims with HIV/AIDS http://bit.ly/1UsFEwB

Teamsters urge DOJ to reject $100B beer merger http://bit.ly/1Yp6yGX

Dems brawl with SEC chief http://bit.ly/1USpmc2

House passes bill to ban IRS from collecting donor info http://bit.ly/1YqlnJB

Senate Dems want SEC to probe Puerto Rico crisis http://bit.ly/1YqlkNT

Russian government hackers penetrated DNC, stole Trump opposition research – The Washington Post http://wapo.st/21kdch2

America’s gun death rates are in a different world – The New York Times http://nyti.ms/1Om7cTB

 

BY THE NUMBERS 

$9.2 million: Amount feds are awarding to programs in six states to help victims of domestic violence with HIV/AIDS. 

$54 million: Amount Labor Department is giving in grants to help low- to middle- skilled parents access child care so they can train for better jobs.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If the proposals that are cooked up in these bureaucracies are really so important, then let the people’s elected representatives decide. No major regulations should become law unless Congress takes a vote,” — House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). http://bit.ly/1tuYaKW

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and @wheelerlydia.

Click here to sign up for the newsletter: http://bit.ly/1Vygy0F