Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young has introduced a bill with a name as intriguing as its subject. The bill, Stop the Regulation Invasion Please Act of 2011, aka "STRIP," would require the Obama administration to justify every regulation that has been enacted in the past 20 years, justify further regulations, and repeal those regulations that are "unjustified."
The name of the bill is intended to get attention, politely. "(W)ith so many bills introduced in Congress, the Congressman wanted to get people talking about his bill and more importantly, talking about Washington's addiction to regulations," Young spokesman Luke Miller said.
Young had been saying he was going to do something like this for awhile, which struck some as audacious, if not a little impractical. But Young, as is his wont, barreled through those criticisms. As his statement pointed out Thursday, the legislation is him being "true to his word." It's also true to his anti-regulatory philosophy, something that he's made an issue of during his 38-year career in the House.
In the release introducing the bill, Young pointed to a study commissioned by the Small Business Administration that found that in 2008 U.S. federal government regulations cost an estimated $1.75 trillion each year.
"When an agency can pass a law unilaterally with the stroke of a pen without Congressional approval, something has to change. Congress must step up to the plate, take responsibility and start holding the Executive Branch accountable," he said.
The statement said that his bill would allow for an "emergency waiver" that would apply to regulations that are necessary "because of an imminent health/safety threat or necessary for the enforcement of criminal laws."
Asked if the bill would prove overly burdensome -- if on the very small chance it gets through both chambers and then escapes a veto -- Miller said that since the agencies should have all evidence already to justify the regulations, it should take "minimal effort and not much time" to send those justifications to Congress.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amanda(at)alaskadispatch.com