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WASHINGTON – Today the House passed H.R. 50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act (UMITA) introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) by a bipartisan vote of 230 - 168.  UMITA strengthens the bipartisan Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) by closing loopholes that allow the federal government to work around the transparency process.  It also expands the scope of UMRA cost analyses to the private sector. 

Rep. Foxx stated, “Americans are tired of far-off Washington bureaucrats making decisions behind closed doors without understanding the real-word consequences.  The weaknesses in our current law have allowed federal regulators to escape public scrutiny and remain unaccountable for mandates’ true economic costs.  Taxpayers deserve to know whether the costs of compliance will make it harder for businesses to stay afloat and for state and local governments to achieve citizens’ priorities.  UMITA restores transparency and forces regulators to think carefully about the indirect costs of mandates before passing them on to North Carolinians.  Additionally, this bill provides the public opportunity to suggest alternatives that don’t drain state and local government coffers.  Every regulation should be deliberative and economically defensible, and I am pleased that a bipartisan majority of my colleagues agree UMITA will make our regulatory environment work better for the American people.” 

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U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.