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A National Regulatory Budget would put the federal government on a regulatory diet

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced legislation, the National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014, which establishes a new independent agency that would be required to assess and report on the economic costs of existing and new federal regulations. The legislation also provides for a regulatory budget process where Congress would establish caps for each federal agency and require federal agencies’ compliance with the caps.  

“Antiquated and unnecessary regulations stand in the way of innovation, economic growth and opportunities for people to achieve the American Dream,” said Rubio. “Free enterprise works when job creators and consumers have a reasonable regulatory system that ensures safety and encourages competition.

“The federal government should be spelling out just how much regulations cost our economy, and then put itself on a regulatory diet that brings greater transparency, accountability and control to our regulatory code,” added Rubio. “The purpose of regulations should be to protect consumers and keep people safe, not to needlessly prevent innovation, economic growth and new job opportunities from happening.”

The full text of the legislation is available here. It has been endorsed by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, National Small Business Association, and Center for Freedom and Prosperity.

Summary: The National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014

If enacted, the National Regulatory Budget would establish the following oversight and control of the federal regulatory system:

• A new independent agency – the Office of Regulatory Analysis (ORA) – would be created to provide an annual regulatory analysis of federal rules and their economic costs for the upcoming year, in dollars.
• The ORA’s director would be nominated by the President for a four year term subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
• An Annual Report on National Regulatory Costs would be required to be submitted to the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate; the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the House Committee on Small Business.
• Congress would set a National Regulatory Budget, establishing a cap on the total economic cost of regulations that can  be implemented and enforced by the federal government. Congress would base its cap on estimates totaling the cost of all existing federal regulations provided by a new independent agency.
  • Congress would establish an annual overall regulatory cost cap, as well as an annual agency regulatory cost cap for each executive branch agency. 
• All new regulations would be required to receive an estimate from the independent estimating agency before they could be implemented.
• Public disclosure would be required of estimate methodology and data used to generate the estimates in the Annual Report on National Regulatory Costs.
• Sanctions would be established for non-cooperation of executive branch agencies with regard to information requests by the ORA director. These sanctions would include a reduced fiscal year appropriations of 0.5 percent from the previous budget.
• An agency that exceeds the annual agency regulatory cost cap may not promulgate a new federal rule that increases regulatory costs and, if it does, the rule in violation will have no force or effect.
• Establishes timeline requirements for Congress to ensure passage of the National Regulatory Budget each year.
  • If enacted in this Congress, the first National Regulatory Budget is required in FY2016.