House Republicans say they’re proud of their 2013 campaign to stymie President Obama’s regulatory agenda, even as Congress comes under fire for one of its least productive years.
The bitterly divided Congress will pass fewer laws in 2013 than any year in modern history. As a result of the gridlock, President Obama has turned to his administration’s regulatory authority in pursuit of key policy goals, including efforts to tackle gun violence and climate change.
While House Republicans have pinned the blame for Congress’ anemic legislative output on Senate Democrats, they make no bones about their efforts to blunt Obama’s rulemaking power.
“We’re left with no choice,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). “The president can’t just go it alone, that’s not who we are as a country.”
In interviews with The Hill, several House Republicans claimed momentum in the messaging battle over federal regulations, which they’ve portrayed as too overbearing and expensive under the Obama administration.
The conference has sought to put the president’s rulemaking agenda on trial in dozens of hearings convened in 2013 by Republican committee and subcommittee leaders.
Lawmakers have taken aim at everything from new limits on the hours that truck drivers can spend behind the wheel to draft standards for the amount of pollution that can spew from power plants. They've also sought to highlight the cumulative effects of regulations on the private sector.
“I think it’s been made more visible,” Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) said. “And I do think we will continue to push because I think it’s vital to our small businesses and our industry in this country that we are successful.”
House Democrats counter that the campaign is just part of the same obstructionist agenda that led to this fall’s 16-day shutdown and debt ceiling fiasco.
“I don’t think they can brag about having any accomplishments,” Rep Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said. “And they certainly not only don’t have accomplishments; they’ve done a lot of harm.”
Defenders of stronger regulation say that key protections have been blocked or delayed under fierce pressure from industry groups and their allies in Congress, and scoff at the notion that agency rulemaking has accelerated under Obama.
There are numbers to support both arguments.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service issued a report earlier this year showing that the number of final rules promulgated by the Obama administration through last year was fewer than those issued during President George W. Bush’s first term.
The same report concluded, however, that more “major rules,” those with an annual economic impact exceeding $100 million, were enacted in 2010 than in any year dating back to at least 1997.
Leading the GOP charge against Obama’s regulatory policies is Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has taken much of the criticism for the dysfunction in Congress.
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/administration/192372-gop-unrepentant-for-anti-regulation-campaign
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