ICYMI: Foxx’s Unfunded Mandates Information & Transparency Act “Has a Chance”
Bipartisan Legislation, H.R. 899, Touted in Investor’s Business Daily
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx’s Unfunded Mandates Information & Transparency Act, H.R. 899, was featured in today’s Investor’s Business Daily. The bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by Representatives Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), and Collin Peterson (D-MN) has been referred to the House Committees on Oversight & Government Reform, Rules, and the Judiciary.
Excerpts:
“That's why a proposal from Rep. Virginia Foxx. R-N.C., is a breath of fresh air.
“[Foxx] has just re-introduced the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act to improve UMRA. It would require all agencies, not just some of them, to conduct UMRA analysis. And it would require these for all new final rules, not just some.”
“Foxx's proposed reform would not curtail Congress' power to regulate; it only requires increased disclosure as to how that power is exercised.”
“If Congress refuses to approve this modest reform it might as well take a roll-call vote on a resolution stating: ‘The public has no business knowing the costs of the regulations that we impose on them.’”
Even After Cuts, Regulation Pushes Up Cost Of Government
By WAYNE CREWS AND RYAN YOUNG
With sequestration dominating the headlines, hyperventilating pundits on both sides are missing an important point: No matter how deep sequestration cuts go — keeping in mind that most "cuts" are really just smaller increases — the cost of government can still grow without limit.
Congress can simply move the costs of federal regulations and spending programs off the federal budget and onto the private sector and state and local governments through unfunded mandates.
For example, instead of funding a new federal job training program from federal coffers, Congress could mandate that all firms above a certain size provide such training at their own expense.
The first option appears on the federal budget; the second does not. For politicians, it's the perfect scheme. The government can spend — or, rather, force others to spend — as much as it wants without adding to the deficit.
And in these times of annual trillion-dollar deficits, the temptation to take that route is greater than ever.
Revolts That Don't Last
Unfunded mandates have severe economic consequences. Agencies spend roughly $61 billion per year to enforce regulations, but complying with those regulations costs private parties about 30 times that, around $1.8 trillion.
Unfortunately, few people outside of Washington appreciate the stealth of off-budget spending through mandates.
There is the occasional uprising of governors and other state and local officials. But the power of the purse is strong, and Congress can always threaten to cut grant money for state programs, so the rebellions tend not to last.
This needs to change. Mandates that impose costs on businesses and consumers should not slip through the regulatory process without public scrutiny.
As a matter of basic transparency, agencies and Congress should have to tally up their mandates' direct and indirect costs — which can include job losses and jobs not being created in the first place.
Furthermore, mandates mount quickly as a small firm grows. Mandatory compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act kicks in at 15 employees, the Health Maintenance Organization Act at 25, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) at 50, and so on.
Incentivizing firms to stay at 49 employees and hire temps to stay under the FMLA threshold is hardly a recipe for job growth.
Congress sought to address this problem by passing the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) in 1995, but it hasn't done much good, as last year's 3,714 new rules can attest.
That's partly because UMRA only applies to cabinet-level agencies, which account for only 17 out of roughly 60 federal rulemaking agencies.
It also lacks teeth; it only requires disclosure that a rule contains unfunded mandates, as opposed to action.
Law Has A Chance
That's why a proposal from Rep. Virginia Foxx. R-N.C., is a breath of fresh air.
She has just re-introduced the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act to improve UMRA. It would require all agencies, not just some of them, to conduct UMRA analysis. And it would require these for all new final rules, not just some.
Foxx's proposed reform would not curtail Congress' power to regulate; it only requires increased disclosure as to how that power is exercised.
Congress would still be free to pass any unfunded mandate it pleases, as long as it accounts for the costs involved. The Foxx bill would help to curb Washington's unfunded mandate problem, but its increased transparency is only a first step.
As the deficit and federal spending — and public anger about them — grow, unfunded mandate reform may just have a chance.
If Congress refuses to approve this modest reform it might as well take a roll-call vote on a resolution stating: "The public has no business knowing the costs of the regulations that we impose on them."
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