The Rheins Act

Congressman Mike Lee has an important post on the Rhein’s act:

“How,” you might ask, “are federal bureaucrats allowed to make federal law when only Congress has that authority?”

Congress has long delegated “rulemaking” power to federal agencies. And although the Supreme Court has long recognized that Congress’s lawmaking power can’t be delegated, it’s long been unwilling to enforce that in the context of federal regulations—even though they’re laws.

These federal regulations come at a steep cost to hardworking Americans. By virtue of the way federal regulations operate, most Americans remain largely unaware of how costly they are. While it’s difficult to assess with precision the cost to the American economy of compliance with federal regulations, most estimates are measured in the trillions of dollars—with some people putting it as high as $4 trillion.

It’s easy for people to assume that those compliance costs are borne by big corporations and a few wealthy individuals. That simply isn’t true. But it can be easy to assume that because most people don’t see how much more they pay for everything due to federal regulations. That’s what makes lawmaking by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats so dangerous.

Most Americans don’t know how much more difficult, inconvenient, and (especially) expensive life is because of federal regulations. Even when Americans become aware of how much they’re being harmed by federal regulations, their ability to fix it is limited by the unholy alliance between Congress and federal bureaucrats.

It was with good reason that the Constitution entrusted the lawmaking power only to Congress. The lawmaking power is the most dangers of the powers wielded by each branch of the U.S. government. The Constitution assigned the lawmaking power to the legislative branch because it’s the branch that stands most accountable to voters, and at the most regular intervals. All U.S. representatives can be fired by their voters every two years. One-third of U.S. senators can be fired by their voters every two years. Essentially no one can fire a federal bureaucrat.

So why does Congress give up so much lawmaking power—handing it over to unelected, unaccountable “experts” who can’t be fired—knowing of the harm it causes to the American people? Short answer: it makes the job of Congress easier and gives members of Congress deniability.

This arrangement between Congress and federal bureaucrats—making life easier for members of Congress and making bureaucrats more powerful—can last only as long as the American people remain unaware of the arrangement’s existence and cost, economically and in terms of liberty.

From how much you pay for almost everything you buy to how much you’re paid to the number of federal crimes on the books (at least 300,000), federal regulations have a far deeper impact on Americans than most realize. Do you miss real light bulbs? Do you miss dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers that got the job done consistently—like they used to? Shower heads and toilets that weren’t so stingy with water? Those too have been lost to actions taken by federal bureaucrats.

Yes, this is a longstanding, expensive, difficult, and complicated problem. Fortunately, we have access to a simple solution.

There’s a bill called the REINS Act that would require all “major rule” federal regulations to be enacted into law *by Congress* before taking effect. This is a simple, elegant solution to a nasty problem.

In essence, the REINS Act requires Congress to comply with what the Constitution already requires. If you think Congress should pass the REINS Act, please find out where your members of (or candidates for) Congress stand on it.

If they say they support it, ask them what they are willing to do to help move it forward. With all that’s at stake, there should be no higher legislative priority for Congress than passing the REINS Act.