68 Groups Tell Congress: Reject the REINS Act

For Immediate Release: Feb. 27, 2023

Contact: David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should reject the REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2023 / H.R. 277), 67 groups and the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards told congressional lawmakers in a letter sent today. The legislation would block the most beneficial public protections by requiring Congress to affirmatively approve them before implementation, creating an unnecessary and likely insurmountable obstacle to the implementation of significant safeguards.

Under the REINS Act, agencies would be barred from enforcing any “major” rule with a large economic impact unless both houses of Congress affirmatively approve it, with no alterations, within a 70-day window. The bill would stop the most important rules, including many non-controversial rules agencies produce every year, from being finalized.

“The REINS Act represents one of the most radical threats in generations to our government’s ability to protect the public from harm,” the letter reads. “The bill’s clear aim is to halt the implementation of critical new public health and safety safeguards, financial reforms, and worker protections, making industry even less accountable to the public. It will only benefit those corporations that wish to game the system and evade safety standards, while doing nothing to improve protections for the American public.”

“The REINS Act is designed to leverage the dysfunction and obstruction that plague our political process to block agencies from pursuing stronger public protections, as they are required by statute to do,” said Rachel Weintraub, executive director of the coalition. “Congress should be searching for ways to ensure that federal agencies can enforce laws that protect our food supply, water, air quality, financial security, and more – not putting up roadblocks to commonsense safeguards.”