Rep. Johnson fights for jobs, and against reckless deregulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) offered a job creation amendment to H.R. 367, the “Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny” Act (REINS Act) of 2013.

The REINS Act would substantially delay and potentially prevent agency rulemaking, at great risk to public health and safety, by requiring that any major new rule be affirmatively approved by Congress and the President.

“The REINS Act would undermine the ability of agencies to protect the public interest,” said Johnson.

“This de-regulatory train wreck threatens to send us back to the days before the Wall Street collapse, a financial catastrophe that could have been avoided by responsible policies. That’s why I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment to promote job creation.”

Johnson’s amendment would protect jobs from the REINS Act by excluding from this bill any rule that would result in net job growth.

Johnson said the bill is completely unnecessary as Congress already has oversight over federal agency rulemaking. For the past 17 years, under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can review and disapprove federal rules – both major and non-major.

President Obama has threatened to veto this damaging bill, as it “would delay, and in many cases, thwart implementation of statutory mandates and execution of duly enacted laws, create business uncertainty, undermine much-needed protections of the American public, and cause unnecessary confusion.”

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