Rep. Cammack and Sen. Paul introduce REINS Act updates

Press release from Congresswoman Kat Cammack

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced their updates to the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act to put power back in the people’s hands instead of the administrative state.

The REINS Act would return legislative power to Congress, check federal overreach, and ensure Americans have the tools needed to defend their rights. The REINS Act requires Congress to approve major federal agency rules and rules with an impact of $100M or more before they take effect.

The original REINS Act most recently passed the House of Representatives in June 2023. The bill stipulates that once major rules are drafted, they must then be affirmatively approved by both chambers of Congress and then signed by the President, satisfying the bicameralism and presentment requirements of the Constitution. Currently, regulations ultimately take effect unless Congress specifically disapproves.

The updated REINS Act includes the following changes:

• New defense for individuals: Individuals can argue that the average person would not have known their actions violated federal law if the statute did not clearly state it
• Right to sue: People can sue to stop the enforcement of a rule if an agency implements a rule without prior congressional approval
• LIBERTY Act: Agency guidance with an economic impact of $100M or more needs congressional approval just like major rules
• Deregulatory actions exempted: Agencies do not need congressional approval to withdraw costly or burdensome rules

“Nameless, faceless, unelected bureaucrats in Washington have had too much power over the American people for far too long. The federal bureaucracy’s rapid growth over the last several decades has resulted in serious damage to the livelihoods of millions of Americans with reckless rulemaking not approved by the body granted Article I authority,” said Rep. Kat Cammack. “The REINS Act is a critical step toward ‘reining’ in this unchecked power and restoring the lawmaking authority to Congress instead of the executive branch. With SCOTUS’ Loper Bright decision earlier this year, we’ve made solid progress in dismantling Chevron, and I’m encouraged for the future of REINS and what it will mean in stopping executive overreach. I thank Senator Paul for his partnership in the Senate and look forward to earning my colleagues’ support for this legislation in the House.”

“The whims of an unaccountable administrative state should never rule our lives. For too long, an ever-growing federal bureaucracy has piled regulations and red tape on the backs of the American people without any approval by Americans’ elected representatives. The recent Supreme Court decision to dismantle Chevron deference stripped away some of the power it wrongly gave to unelected bureaucrats years ago, but there’s still work to do. By making Congress more accountable for the most costly and intrusive federal rules, our REINS Act would give Kentuckians and all Americans a greater voice in determining whether these major rules are truly in America’s best interests,” said Dr. Paul.

“Four years of unprecedented executive branch spending and a record-setting stream of new rules from unelected bureaucrats in Washington have caused the price of everything to go up at the same time the value of every dollar has gone down. American families are left paying more for less in a broken economy that was roaring just a few short years ago. The REINS Act would empower Congress to free working families from the suffocating weight of the Biden-Harris bureaucracy and cure the cost-of-living crisis dimming the American Dream. The REINS Act cuts to the core of the fundamental question facing our nation at this critical moment in history: Do we want our future determined by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., or the elected representatives closest to the people?,” added Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA). 

Earlier this summer, Rep. Cammack hosted a press conference with Republican Members of the House and Senate discussing the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright, which overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine. Watch the remarks here.

You can read the updated REINS Act here.