The REINS Act – H.R. 10 Threatens Checks and Balances

December 7, 2011

by bosskitty

House of Representatives Passed the bill that Undermines Crucial Safeguards for American Families!

The REINS Act (H.R. 10) was voted on Wednesday, December 7. This bill will cause massive delays in the rulemaking process, makes it far more difficult for agencies to protect us.

The REINS Act now moves to the Senate, where it is sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). More information on the bill is available at http://www.ombwatch.org/reinsact – Please call your Senator and urge him or her to strengthen, not weaken, our system of public protections.

House Passes Bill To Grant Congress Veto Power Over White House Rules

WASHINGTON — A bill that would give the controlling party of either chamber of Congress veto power over any major new regulation passed the House of Representatives Wednesday.

About the REINS Act:

The REINS Act would force each new major regulation to go through a congressional approval process, subjecting it to political infighting, special interest influence, and legislative gridlock. If either house of Congress fails to approve the major rule in a narrow 70-day window, the rule will be killed.
The bill would delay and possibly undo critical safeguards that protect our civil rights, environment, food, children’s toys, workplaces, health care, and economy.

The bill empowers corporate lobbyists and their allies in Congress to ignore science and focus on politicking when it comes to the development of our public protections.

The REINS Act requires any regulatory rule with an impact of $100 million or more on the economy to be subject to approval of the House and Senate within 70 legislative days before taking effect. If Congress were to fail to act on the proposal, with a few exceptions, the rule could not be brought up again until the next Congress.

After Congress passes a law, federal agencies are charged with implementing the law often with a series of more detailed regulations. The Administrative Procedures Act allows interested parties and the public to participate in a detailed fashion in the the rulemaking process. The REINS Act is widely viewed as a way to kill or delay public health, safety or environmental regulations. It would “allow a single member of Congress, at the behest of some powerful special interest or campaign contributor, [to] block science-based lead standards for children’s products, block crib safety rules or any number of protections that provide a safer consumer marketplace,” according to consumer advocate Ed Mierswinski of U.S. PIRG (the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups).

According to Representative Connolly, the REINS Act represents the “171st attack” on public health and the environment in this Congress. The REINS Act was already voted down in the Senate earlier this month as part of the so-called “Republican Jobs Bill.”

Would shifting regulatory power to Congress usher in a lobbying bonanza?

Republicans are trying to shift regulatory power from the executive branch to Congress in a bill that’s expected to pass the House today. The REINS Act would send any “major rule” that’s estimated to cost the economy more than $100 million to Congress — or have adverse effects on consumers, the business climate and individual industries — for an up-or-down vote. If Congress doesn’t approve the regulation in 70 days, it won’t take effect. The bill is dead-on-arrival in the Senate, but it underscores some of the GOP’s biggest anti-regulatory talking points.

That said, the REINS Act essentially leaves it to the executive branch to decide which regulations to send to Congress. Under the bill, officials from the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and

"We Want Big Biz Ruining Our Lives"

Office of Management and Budget are supposed to determine which regulations are subject to a congressional vote, based on their cost to the economy and adverse impact on

consumers and the industry. And there isn’t broad-based consensus about how to measure this impact.

Koch Brothers’ “Christmas Present” Up for House Vote

This is another example of the GOP trying to rearrange the power structure in the United States of America. They are determined to impose a twisted interpretation of the United States Constitution. When we don’t pay attention, and when t he mainstream media is bought off from alerting the public, we end up railroaded. RAILROADED!Submitted by Rebekah Wilce on December 1, 2011 – 8:52am

The U.S. House of Representatives votes soon on a series of deregulatory bills that, according to the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), “threaten vital health, environmental, safety and financial regulations.”

“We Want Big Biz Ruining Our Lives” (Source: Joe Mohr)Voting is expected on the Regulatory Accountability Act (H.R. 3010) and the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act (H.R. 527) on December 1, and on The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10) next week.

Thanks to the arrogant manipulation of the Kock Brother’s, John Birch Society, elitist, bigoted mindset, the GOP, is extorted to rearrange the power structure in the United States of America. The GOP is determined to impose a twisted interpretation of the United States Constitution. This is the agenda of Brothers Koch. Why are they still privately owned? Because they cannot survive ethical scrutiny! When we don’t pay attention, and when t he mainstream media is bought off from alerting the public, we end up railroaded. RAILROADED!

We have seen the power of big business morph this country into their greedy playground. Corporate America has bought every idea we are exposed to. They want to control our behavior. They want to control our pocket books. They want to control the ethnicity and religion of this country to serve their greedy ambitions. The corporate media complies with the corporate mission to disseminate half truths and shape the emotions of each and every one of us. Corporate media is tasked to control the wants and needs of the general public, because it wants the money it has paid for our services BACK. Everything they pay us, they want back … with interest.

Thank you to: CleverFool.com

Koch Brothers Wealth: Buy When There’s Blood In The Streets

According to Forbes, The Koch Brothers’ wealth has reportedly grown an outrageous $15 billion over the last year and half. Here’s Truth-Out.org with some more on that:

Their combined wealth of $50 billion is exceeded only by the Microsoft founder’s $59 billion fortune. Buoyed by aggressive speculative trading on volatile energy markets, the Koch brothers accumulated $15 billion in wealth since March 2010, a 43 percent increase.

Economy? What economy? Fuck the economy!

The Koch Brothers (Charles and David) are seemingly immune to any sort of economic downfall, primarily in fact, because it seems they feast on human suffering more than Paris Hilton feasts on penis… and boy, is there a lot of that suffering going on in the streets right now…

My letter to Lloyd Doggett: (too late, it passed, hopefully the Senate has more sense) Thankfully Doggett voted NO!

HR 10 tears apart the original checks and balances placed in the US Constitution. HR 10 impedes Government Agencies from enacting pertinent rules and regulations that effect all of us. Because Congress relies on their overworked staff and greedy lobbyists to make their decisions, Americans are being hi-jacked once again by big business interests. Who else can afford to tell a congressman whether or not a regulation will effect their profit margin? Lobbyists are industry specific and do not represent my best interests. Lobbyists represent the best interests of corporations, who only weigh the consequences of regulations on their pocket book.