[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2103-S2104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               REINS ACT

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, it has been a long time coming, but it is 
with enormous pride that I stand to celebrate the passage of the REINS 
Act in the House of Representatives today.
  This landmark legislation represents a significant step forward 
toward reining in the ever-expanding Federal Government. I am immensely 
grateful to House Republicans, to the House Freedom Caucus, and to 
Representative Kat Cammack, for their unwavering persistence in 
championing this desperately needed reform legislation.
  The journey of the REINS Act began years ago with profound 
recognition that something was fundamentally wrong with our Federal 
regulatory system.
  We realized the power wielded by these faceless Agencies was 
unfolding unchecked, eroding the very foundations of our Republic, 
rendering it unaccountable.
  The notion that a small group of unelected individuals could impose 
far-reaching regulations that affected every aspect of our lives was 
itself an affront to the principles upon which this great Nation was 
built--certainly, contrary to the rules established and embodied in the 
Constitution, which govern the way our government operates.
  Year after year, the proponents of regulatory reform within the 
Federal system have fought against the odds, facing resistance from 
those who have defended the status quo. We knew that the American 
people deserved better, that their voices should be heard, and that 
their elected representatives should have the final say.
  Throughout its evolution, the REINS Act has undergone refinements, 
fine-tuning its provisions to maintain the cutting edge, while ensuring 
democratic accountability. It is about reining in unchecked power, 
bringing spending under the watchful eye of our elected 
representatives, and restoring the principles of transparency and 
accountability.
  The tenets of the REINS Act are rooted in common sense in a way that 
every American can grasp. If you understand the concept of no taxation 
without representation, then it should be easy to understand the REINS 
Act. But what exactly does the REINS Act mean for hard-working 
families?
  Well, the entrepreneurial spirit runs deep within our country--the 
entire country--and certainly within my home State of Utah, driving 
economic growth and fostering innovation across various industries. 
From tech startups to local artisans, Utahns have a strong inclination 
to pursue their passions, start their own businesses, and create 
opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.
  However, this entrepreneurial spirit often faces significant hurdles, 
sometimes insurmountable hurdles, due to overregulation by this or that 
Federal Agency. It is like the feeling you get when you try to assemble 
a new piece of furniture from a certain Swedish retail store, and you 
are not quite sure if you have purchased the kejserlig or the plogfara. 
Yet you are bombarded with a thousand-page jargon-filled instruction 
manual. Federal regulations often feel like those convoluted 
instruction manuals, but with much higher stakes, though the titles are 
a little easier to pronounce.
  The REINS Act seeks to change that. The term ``REINS'' is an acronym 
that stands for Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, and 
its purpose is simple: to ensure that unelected bureaucrats cannot 
impose major regulations on us without the consent of our elected 
representatives.
  It is about putting power back into the hands of the people and their 
elected representatives, where it rightfully belongs. You see, this 
isn't just a good idea. It is a good idea that has been embedded within 
the Constitution. The very first operative provision of that document--
article I, section 1, clause 1--makes this clear:

       All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
     Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a 
     Senate and House of Representatives.

  The meaning of that is clear and simple: to make law, you have to go 
through the Congress. There is no other way to make law. Legislative 
powers are powers to make law, and all legislative powers granted in 
the Constitution are Federal laws. Therefore, to make a Federal law, 
you have to follow the formula prescribed in article I, section 1.
  Article I, section 7 explains exactly how that has to happen. You 
have the same legislative proposal that has to

[[Page S2104]]

pass the House and the Senate, in identical text, before it can then be 
presented to the President for signature, veto, or acquiescence.
  The point of this is simple: The power to make law is inherently 
dangerous and volatile. It can harm people, just as it can protect 
others. For that reason, it is not to be entrusted to any branch of 
government other than the branch of government most accountable to the 
people at the most regular intervals.
  You see, regulatory reform is more than just some esoteric concept 
that exists solely within Capitol Hill or in Washington, DC. Its impact 
reverberates across our daily lives, affecting everything from the cost 
of goods and services to the livelihoods of hard-working individuals 
and families.
  That is why it is about a whole lot more than just what the 
Constitution says and what it should be interpreted and understood to 
mean. It is about how this affects individuals and families. By 
requiring congressional approval for major regulations, for enactment 
of a new major rule or regulation, as if it were a legislative 
proposal, rather than just allowing executive branch Agencies to 
make new laws themselves, the REINS Act brings accountability and 
transparency to the rulemaking process, injecting a much needed and 
constitutionally prescribed dose of common sense into our bureaucratic 
system.

  The REINS Act articulates and imagines a world where small businesses 
are free from the weight of onerous regulations, detached from any 
common sense, where parents can provide for their children without 
being bogged down by unnecessary redtape, and where innovation and 
entrepreneurship thrive without the suffocating grip of excessive 
government control. That is the world we strive to create with the 
passage of the REINS Act.
  Now, to be clear, even with the REINS Act, from time to time some 
Federal regulations would end up being approved and enacted in the law 
by Congress. Congress, after all, can and does make mistakes, but there 
is a big difference when Congress makes that mistake. Members of 
Congress who vote for that mistake can be held accountable.
  Currently, they cannot. In fact, by design, they are insulated from 
the process, left only in a position where the best they can do is 
write a harshly worded letter, beating their chest, and calling the 
people who wrote this or that regulation at this or that Federal Agency 
barbarians.
  But, after all, our job is not about writing letters. It is about 
making law. Insofar as we have got other entities that are not us, run 
by people who are not elected by voters in our State or in any State, 
that is a problem, and it is a problem that we have to fix.
  Today, we celebrate this victory--this victory for freedom, for 
common sense, and for the hard-working families who deserve a 
government that serves, not stifles them. We owe an immense debt of 
gratitude to the House of Representatives and, in particular, to the 
House Republicans who voted for this, specifically, most notably, the 
Members of the House Freedom Caucus for their tireless efforts in 
pushing this legislation forward, reminding us all that persistence and 
unwavering dedication can yield remarkable results.
  I stand before you humbled and honored to witness this historic 
moment. Together, we can continue to fight for this needed reform, not 
just as an abstract concept, not just as something that the 
Constitution already requires, but also as a tangible path toward a 
brighter, more prosperous future for all Americans.
  All Americans benefit from this, but it is especially those Americans 
who struggle who will benefit the most from this. You have to remember 
that these regulations, when they are put in place, come at a cost. 
They are not free.
  It has been a few years since anyone has undertaken a comprehensive 
effort to estimate the total cost of complying with Federal 
regulations. But according to one study that I saw--it has been several 
years ago now since this study was produced--they estimated that the 
cost, while impossible to calculate in its entirety, was at least $2 
trillion. When adding a whole lot of Federal regulations, including 
some very costly Federal regulations since that study was done, one can 
surmise from that that the cost is now somewhere between $2 trillion 
and $3 trillion. This is an enormous sum of money.
  Now, let's not deceive ourselves. Let's not minimize this by assuming 
that those costs are borne simply by wealthy Americans, by big blue-
chip corporations, by someone whom we can imagine in our mind's eye as 
a Monopoly game piece wearing a monocle, dressed up like Mr. Peanut. 
No, that is not who pays for this. Who pays for this are hard-working 
Americans, disproportionately America's poor and middle class, who pay 
dearly for this. That 2 or 3 trillion-dollar figure is supported by you 
and me and, disproportionately, by those who are near the bottom of the 
socioeconomic scale. Those people who are working hard, living paycheck 
to paycheck, find that, as a result of these regulations, everything 
they buy--from cornflakes to cars, from groceries to gasoline, and 
everything in between--becomes more expensive. They also pay for it 
through diminished wages and unemployment.
  Those are real people who are being harmed by these things. The least 
we can do is, before subjecting them to even more regulations that are 
going to cost America's poor and middle class even more money, we owe 
it to them to have the decency to at least vote on these regulations 
before they have to comply, before they have to pay through the nose, 
yet again, for more and more products.
  Inflation has many causes, but one of the significant ones is 
excessive Federal regulation. Those regulations won't go away with the 
REINS Act, but when the REINS Act becomes law, we will at least be 
doing the American people the basic courtesy of voting on regulations 
before they have to comply. It is not too much to ask.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________