The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act
OUR POSITION: CSS opposes the bill and urges lawmakers to vote against it.
The Unfunded Mandates and Information Transparency Act would require federal agencies to alert regulated industries when they are considering drafting a rule and solicit their feedback – before the public learns there may be a rule under consideration. Businesses could block even a hypothetical future rule and the public might never find out.
The bill would require agencies to perform retrospective analyses at the request of any chairman or ranking member of any House or Senate committee. Agencies could be forced to perform dozens, if not hundreds, of unnecessary retrospective reviews for rules that have been on the books for decades – diverting staff and resources from developing critical new safety standards.
In addition, the legislation would improperly expand the scope of judicial review by requiring judges to assess cost-benefit analyses that they do not have the economic, technical and scientific expertise to evaluate. This unprecedented role for the courts is just a recipe for more litigation, endless delays and greater uncertainty for regulated industries and the public.
CSS Resources
CSS Opposes the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017 (H.R. 50)
Letter to Members: July 10, 2018
Corporate Congress Trying to Kill Public Safeguards
Editorial Board Alert: March 4, 2015
House Bill Lets Big Business Write the Rules and Secretly Block Them
Press Release: January 30, 2015
CSS Opposes the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act (UMITA) of 2015, H.R. 50
Letter to Members: January 27, 2015
Groups Oppose the Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency (ALERRT) Act (H.R. 2804) and the Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4)
Letter to Members: September 18, 2014
Groups Oppose Package of Flawed Anti-Regulatory Bills
Letter to Members: February 25, 2014
CSS Opposes H.R. 899, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act (UMITA) of 2013
Letter to Members: July 23, 2013
CSS Opposes the “Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act” (H.R. 4078)
Letter to Members: July 18, 2012
Small Business Regulatory Reform in the 112th Congress is Unwarranted
Fact Sheet: June 22, 2011
Resources from Members and Allies
House’s New Target: All Health, Safety, Financial Protections
U.S. PIRG: February 4, 2015
House Again Votes to Weaken Health, Safety, Environmental Protections
Natural Resources Defense Council: February 4, 2015
Letter to Representatives Expressing Opposition to H.R. 50 and H.R. 527
AFL-CIO: February 3, 2015
Corporate Congress to Go After Entire Regulatory System Next Week
Public Citizen: February 2, 2015
Your Up-to-Date 10-Day Forecast for Capitol Hill: A Blizzard of Anti-Regulatory Bills
Center for Progressive Reform: January 28, 2015
Press Coverage
Five Dumb Bills Just Passed by the House Would Screw the Environment
Grist: February 28, 2015
The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act: Bill to Curb Regulations Introduced in House
The National Law Review: February 26, 2015
White House Issues Veto Threat for House Bill on Regulatory Process
Reuters: February 3, 2015
Rule-Making Reforms Head to House Floor
The Hill: February 3, 2015
GOP Readies Poison Pill for Federal Regulators
The District Sentinel: February 3, 2015
Congress Revives Gingrich-Era Law to Thwart Obama
The Huffington Post: January 31, 2015
House Eyes Tighter Rules for Reporting Cost of Regs
The Hill: January 30, 2015