I have an article in the new issue of Regulation on the REINS Act, which would prevent major regulations from taking effect without the passage of a joint resolution of approval by Congress. The article is largely based on my Congressional testimony about the Act, and summarizes the arguments for and against the measure. My […]
Archive | Congress
Don’t Blame EPA for What the Clean Air Act Requires
By Jonathan H. Adler on June 4, 2011 5:37 pm in Climate Change, Congress, Environment, Regulation, Uncategorized
At a recent press conference touting House GOP plans to reduce regulatory burdens on business, members of Congress expressed dismay that the Environmental Protection Agency may tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone (aka urban smog) without considering the economic costs. Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo) remarked: I received this week a letter from […]
Was Senate Oil Subsidy Bill Unconstitutional?
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans blocked a vote on legislation to repeal $2 billion in tax breaks for the five largest oil companies. Even had the bill passed, it would not have had much effect, however. Equivalent legislation is unlikely to move in the House. More importantly, as TPM reports, passage of the bill would likely […]
The New Unicameralism
The Hill reports that House Republicans appear to have forgotten how a bill becomes law. Specifically, on Friday the House narrowly passed the “Government Shutdown Prevention Act,” a bill that, among other things, purports to make a House-passed spending bill become law should the Senate fail to act. As Ed Morrissey notes, this is like […]
REINS Act — A Response to Noah Sachs
Last month, University of Richmond law professor Noah Sachs published an article in The New Republic criticizing the proposed REINS Act, which would require Congressional approval before any major regulation could take effect. As with many attacks on the REINS Act, Sachs’ article misrepresents the legislation to make its case. As there is a hearing […]
The REINS Act Revisited & A Response to David Uhlmann
Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee will have a second hearing on the REINS Act, a bill to increase legislative control over and accountability for federal regulatory policy. The central provisions of the REINS Act provide that new “major rules” – those regulations expected to cost over $100 million annually – may not become effective unless […]
Reflections on the REINS Act Hearing
On Monday, I testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law on the REINS Act. The other witnesses were former Rep. David McIntosh and Sally Katzen, who headed the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Clinton Administration. Rep. McIntosh and I expressed support for the REINS […]
Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny
Tomorrow afternoon (back willing) I will be in Washington, D.C. to testify before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law on the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. This bill would require congressional approval before new “major” regulations — those regulations expected to cost in excess of $100 million per […]
Does the “Speech and Debate Clause” Shield Congress?
Today’s Washington Post has an interesting article detailing Justice Department concerns that the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause has frustrated investigations into Congressional wrongdoing. The clause provides, in relevant part, that members of Congress: shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the […]
Lame Duck Hunting Revisited
In November I wrote a blog post critical of non-emergency lame duck Congressional sessions. Since then, the lame duck Congressional session has been surprisingly productive. Not only did Congress pass a tax deal, it repealed DADT, confirmed some judges and (perhaps most importantly) rejected a pork-laden spending omnibus. That’s far better than I would have expected. But […]
Final score on 2d Amendment in the November elections
Now that all congressional races have been decided, here the final tallies for how the election affected Second Amendment support in Congress, according to the NRA’s top federal lobbyist Chuck Cunningham: 19 of 25 U.S. Senate candidates endorsed by the NRA-Political Victory Fund won their races. The net gain is +7 votes (Ark., N.H., N.D., Oh., Penn., W.V., […]
Ending Honorific Resolutions
The Los Angeles Times reports that Republicans may eliminate honorific resolutions (e.g. resolutions endorsing National Potato Day and National Pi Day, or honoring the 75th anniversary of Radio Shack’s listing on the NYSE — all real examples) from Congressional business. This would be a nice symbolic gesture. Such resolutions seem trivial, but they cost time […]
Lame-Duck Hunting
The 20th Amendment provides that the terms of Senators and members of Congress end on January 3. Its passage in 1932 severely curtailed the potential for Congress to enact measures in lame-duck sessions by limiting the time between elections and the existing Congress’ expiration to approximately two months or less. Seventy-five years ago, travel […]
2d Amend. Results
Senate: +6 House: +18.75 Governors: +.5 Constitutions: +4 Hawaii Gov. Dem. Abercrombie wins open seat, vacated by Linda Lingle. -75. Undecided Governor races: Connecticut (potential +1), Repub. Foley leads by 3%, with 87% in. Florida (potential -1), Repub. Sink leads by 1% with 99% in. Minnesota open seat (potential -1), Mark Dayton leads by 1% […]
Second Amendment election returns
I’ll be providing them here tonight, once the polls close, and results start coming in. I’ll also be doing updates via Twitter, @davekopel. Besides the candidate races, there are five important ballot issues. Kansas will be voting on whether to restore the individual right to keep and bear arms to state constitution, undoing the judicial […]