Overnight Regulation: GOP crafting list of regs for Trump to roll back

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It’s Thursday evening here in Washington and we’re ready for Friday. 

Here’s the latest. 

 

THE BIG STORY 

House Republicans are drafting a list of 200 or more regulations President-elect Donald Trump can do away with once he takes office.

In a statement to The Hill, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said the goal is to identify which regulations can be axed in order to help the new administration “hit the ground running on day one.”

{mosads}

“Many of the federal regulations from the Obama administration are crushing small businesses, hurting working families and placing significant burdens on taxpayers,” he said.

“We want to waste no time in helping get government off the backs of Americans and get our country back on a path to liberty, safety, and prosperity for all.”

Meadow’s spokesman, Ben Williamson, said the Labor Department’s controversial overtime rule is on the list. 

The rule, which was temporarily blocked by a federal judge earlier this month, forces employers to pay overtime to most salaried workers earning less than $47,476 annually. The salary cutoff for overtime pay now is $23,660. 

When the rule was finalized in May, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called it an “absolute disaster” for the economy.

Williamson said the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. rule, the Labor Department’s rule for financial advisers and the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules made the list, too.

So did Obama’s existing immigration program, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. DACA allows certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as children to stay here and obtain a work permit. 

Trump has pledged to make drastic cuts to regulations. 

In his first 100 days, he’s planning to issue an executive action to create a two-for-one policy that would require two rules to be eliminated for every new rule created. http://bit.ly/2gNQ4Yi

 

ON TAP FOR FRIDAY

The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations will hold a hearing to discuss D.C. Metro’s safety and maintenance. http://bit.ly/2gdrcbz

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 154 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register.

Here’s what is happening:

–The Department of Justice (DOJ) will issue new requirements for movie theaters.

Movie theaters must now provide closed captioning and audio descriptions for customers who are deaf or blind.

The rule goes into effect in 45 days. http://bit.ly/2gLErUk

–The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will continue providing health insurance for the children of same-sex partners of federal workers who are living overseas, even if their parents are not married.

Following the Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage, the federal government stopped providing coverage for the children of unmarried same-sex partners earlier this year. But the agency will issue an extension for federal workers living overseas.

These children will now be covered through September 2018, the agency says.

“OPM recognizes there are additional requirements placed on overseas federal employees that may not apply to other civilian employees with duty stations in the United States making it difficult to travel to the United States to marry same-sex partners,” the agency wrote.

The extension goes into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/2fXjh4w

–The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will issue new privacy rules for Internet service providers and telecommunications companies.

The privacy requirements are intended to better protect customers’ information.

“The privacy framework in these rules focuses on transparency, choice, and data security, and provides heightened protection for sensitive customer information, consistent with customer expectations,” the agency says.

The rule goes into effect in 30 days. http://bit.ly/2gEALAR

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW

Obama administration will appeal court order blocking overtime rule. http://bit.ly/2gRhgob

Obama to issue $44B in ‘midnight regulations,’ study finds. http://bit.ly/2fQJpum

But White House denies pushing midnight regulations (Washington Examiner). http://washex.am/2gryj37

Study: Feds issued $1T in regs since 2005. http://bit.ly/2gLFAv3

The obscure law Donald Trump will use to unwind Obama’s regs. http://bit.ly/2gPwda7

Obama administration rushes to finalize fuel-economy regs (Investopedia). http://bit.ly/2gRf3sy

Utah counties sue over Obama’s coal moratorium. http://bit.ly/2gNDb0v

Civil rights groups: Sessions unfit for AG. http://bit.ly/2fLhAse

 

BY THE NUMBERS

20: Number of economically significant rules that could be issued before President Obama leaves office.

$44B: Money it will cost the economy to comply with the “midnight regulations” planned by the Obama administration.

(Source: The business-friendly American Action Forum)