House Continues To Waste Time

When they are not trying to repeal Obamacare, the House is passing “regulatory reform” bills.  Thursday was a day for the House GOP to try to save the economy in their own peculiar way:

The House on Thursday approved legislation that would force federal agencies to be more transparent about pending regulations, and make them choose regulatory alternatives that impose the smallest cost possible on companies.

The Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act, or the ALERRT Act, is the GOP’s latest attempt to limit the impact of federal rules on the private sector. Republicans say the explosion of regulations is the chief culprit behind the lackluster job growth around the country, a message the GOP appears likely to repeat up until the November midterm elections.

There are two reasons this is a profound waste of time.  First, as I note in my book (wow I love typing that sentence), these bills rarely do anything to change regulations.  Second, the Senate will ignore the bill and, even if they didn’t, the President would veto it.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.