On Feb. 6, a broad coalition of industry groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce delivered a letter to Senate leadership urging passage of the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 (RAA – H.R. 5). ARSA joined the effort supporting the legislation to improve the federal rulemaking process.

With regulatory reform high on the agenda for the Republican Congress, regulated entities in every industry are pushing hard to push lawmakers to reestablish their oversight of the executive branch. The RAA, introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and already passed by the House, revises federal rulemaking procedures under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to require agencies to make evidence-based determinations and more-deeply consider the impact of rules on regulated entities. Similar bills have been introduced in each of the last two Congresses, but had little-to-no chance of becoming law.

“Now is the time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional legislative authority by ensuring agencies implement congressional intent, not the intent of the agency,” the letter said. “With both the new presidential administration and the U.S. House of Representatives agreeing on the urgent need for regulatory reform, the Senate is presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass much-needed modernization of the [APA], whose rulemaking provisions have remained virtually unchanged since it was enacted in 1946.”

ARSA will continue to support efforts to reform the rulemaking process. In the meantime, repair stations should ensure they are informed by:

(1) Reading the full Feb. 6 letter (click here).
(2) Reviewing the summaries of the RAA (click here).
(3) Check out the association’s training resources on rulemaking (click here) and regulatory reform (click here).

Previous Regulatory Reform Efforts...

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