Chairman Cliff Stearns:
Obama's Effort to Prod Independent Agencies to Identify Job-Smothering
Red Tape is Welcomed
July 12, 2011
Energy and Commerce Committee leaders welcomed today’s action by
President Obama to encourage independent government agencies to identify
and weed out outdated and onerous regulations that are undercutting job
growth.
Chairman
Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
The president’s move follows regulatory czar Cass Sunstein’s
startling testimony last month to the Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee that independent agencies were not participating in the
regulatory relief effort despite his urging.
Last week, senior officials
from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Federal Communications
Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Trade
Commission testified before the subcommittee on how independent agencies
were responding to President Obama’s executive order on regulatory
reform issued in January.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight
and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) issued the
following statement in response to the president’s action:
“Last week’s disappointing jobs report underscores the urgent need to
fight the bureaucratic red tape that is smothering the nation’s job
creators. Today’s action is a welcome acknowledgement by the president
that independent agencies like the FCC, FERC, and CPSC are indeed
responsible for regulations that are harming our economic growth and
sending jobs overseas. Jobs remain our top priority, and we cannot
afford to have any federal agency engaging in a regulatory assault on
growth and innovation.”
Regulatory Czar Sunstein admits independent agencies had refused to
identify job smothering regulations despite his urging
During a startling exchange between Obama regulatory czar Cass Sunstein
and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) last month, Sunstein revealed that the
administration’s independent agencies had refused to participate in the
effort to identify job-smothering regulations despite his urging. At the
time of the May 18th deadline for preliminary plans, only one
independent agency had submitted a regulatory review, and that review by
the National Labor Relations Board
amounted to a one page document.
On
January 18, 2011, President Obama signed Executive Order 13563 on
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. The order states under the
General Principles of Regulation: “Our regulatory system must protect
public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting
economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation.” The
executive order required federal agencies to review existing regulations
and submit preliminary plans by May 18. While independent agencies were
not technically required to comply with the order, Sunstein had
encouraged their participation. The Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations has held a series of hearings to reduce regulatory
burdens on job creators, including last week’s examination of “The Views
of the Independent Agencies on Regulatory Reform.”
The Energy and Commerce Committee has been at the forefront of efforts
to promote job creation, with a focus on expanding American-made energy
and promoting a balanced regulatory approach that does not harm job
creators. Aggressive oversight of burdensome regulations is a critical
component of the Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators.
del.icio.us
Slashdot
reddit
Newsvine
Chairman
Cliff Stearns (R-FL)
