The ALERT Act
OUR POSITION: CSS opposes the bill and urges lawmakers to vote against it.
The All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act would delay most rules until six months after they have been posted online by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
This arbitrary six-month delay would do nothing more than obstruct rulemaking needed to save lives, protect public health and hold industry accountable. Most rules already take years to develop and finalize, with multiple opportunities for public and industry input.
Indeed, the bill’s reporting requirements would ask agencies to duplicate information that is already available at Regulations.gov. These requirements would do little more than create wasteful and time-consuming busywork for chronically underfunded and understaffed agencies.
Note that the bill would require regulators to calculate and post the costs of new rules, but makes no similar demand when it comes to the benefits of those rules or the costs of failing to regulate. This one-sided approach to “transparency” is nothing more than politically motivated cherry-picking of the evidence, aimed at misleading the public.
CSS Resources
CSS Opposes the ALERT Act (H.R. 262)
Letter to Members: February 2, 2024
Regulatory Accountability Act Is a Frankenstein’s Monster Built to Block and Delay Public Protections
Press Release: January 5, 2017
CSS Opposes the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act (H.R. 712)
Letter to Members: January 7, 2016
CSS Opposes the All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act of 2015, H.R. 1759: House Judiciary Markup
Letter to Members: April 13, 2015
CSS Opposes the All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act of 2013, H.R. 2804
Letter to Members: February 10, 2014
Resources from Members and Affiliates
House Tees Up VW Bailout and Other Attacks on Public Protections, Consumer Rights
U.S. PIRG: January 6, 2016
Defeating the Public Interest One Bill at a Time: The ALERT Act (H.R. 1759)
Center for Progressive Reform: April 14, 2015
CFA Urging the House Judiciary Committee to Oppose the REINS Act and ALERT Act
Consumer Federation of America: April 14, 2015
Analysis of H.R. 1759 – The All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2015 (the ALERT Act)
Center for Progressive Reform: April 2015
Press Coverage
Miller Still Pushing for OSHA Combustible Dust Rule
Occupational Health & Safety: March 4, 2014
Five Dumb Bills Just Passed by the House Would Screw the Environment
Grist: February 28, 2014
House GOP Plots Anti-Reg Blitz
The Hill: February 20, 2014