Congress Reins In Regulatory Beast
By Bonner R. Cohen
Copyright 1999 Investor's Business Daily
March 17, 1999
It's hardly fashionable these days to say something good about
Congress. But
we must give credit to a group of hardy souls who are taking on
America's
Leviathan-like regulatory structure.
The House and Senate are taking some impressive legislative
steps
in the war to cut red tape.
Last month, the House passed 274-149 the "Mandates
Information Act of 1999"
(H.R. 350). The bill is the brainchild of Reps. Gary Condit,
D-Calif., and Rob
Portman, R-Ohio.
Their bill targets "hidden taxes" -the costs imposed on
consumers and
businesses as a result of federal mandates. It requires any
legislation
imposing private- sector costs of $ 100 million or more to be
subject to a
"point of order" in Congress. That would require a 20-minute debate
and then
a vote on whether to strike the mandate. House members would need
just a simple
majority to get rid of the costly mandate.
"Hidden mandates are an unfair tax on American consumers.
It's just basic
common sense for Congress to know the costs of legislation," said
Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif. The bill forces Congress to look
before it leaps
and, with its up-or- down vote, keeps lawmakers accountable for the
burdens
they place on the rest of society.
The bill has impressive backers: the National Governors
Association, U.S.
Conference of Mayors, National League of
Cities and National Conference of State Legislators are just a few.
The House has also set its sights on the reams of
paperwork Washington
bureaucrats dump on unsuspecting small businesses. Twenty-four
hours after the
Condit-Portman bill passed, lawmakers approved 274-151 the "Small
Business
Paperwork Amendments Act of 1999" (H.R. 391). Rep. David McIntosh,
R-Ind.,
sponsored the bill. It amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
which called
for a 20% reduction in federal paperwork burdens over four years.
Despite the 1995 law's noble
intentions, paperwork actually increased by 2.3% in 1997 and 1% in
1998,
according to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Americans
spent an incredible 7 billion hours on paperwork in 1998 at a cost
of $ 229
billion, OMB
reported.
Unlike large corporations, most of America's 22 million
small businesses lack
the legal expertise that can keep them from making mistakes when
filling out
the mountains of paperwork thrust upon them. Fines for such errors
can be
stiff, forcing many small businesses into bankruptcy. The McIntosh
bill
offers overburdened small businesses relief:
* It waives civil fines for minor, first-time paperwork
violations if the small
businesses correct the infractions within six months.
* It requires federal agencies to create a hotline for
small businesses that
need answers and guidance when
filling out federal paperwork.
* And the bill establishes a task force to study the
feasibility of
streamlining reporting requirements for small businesses.
The McIntosh bill won't hinder law enforcement or civil
fines. Congress
doesn't want to impede the prosecutions of criminal activity,
including drug
crimes,
IRS violations or threats to the environment, health and safety.
Things are also stirring in the Senate. Legislation
introduced by Sens. Fred
Thompson, R-Tenn., and John Breaux, D-La., helps the public assess
the costs
and benefits of regulations originating in Washington.
Their "Regulatory Right-to-Know Act" (S. 59) requires the
OMB to issue an annual regulatory accounting report,
showing the costs and benefits of federal regulatory actions. In
addition, the
OMB would be instructed to issue an analysis of the impact of
regulations on
governments, the private sector and the nation's economic growth.
The bill also
requires the OMB to
make recommendations for reforming outdated or wasteful
regulations.
As sensible as these modest initiatives are, they are
already being viewed
with hostility by a White House determined to keep power
concentrated in the
hands of unelected bureaucrats. The White House has threatened to
veto the
bills aimed at exposing any
hidden taxes or cutting paperwork. Mayors, governors and citizens
already feel
the costs of federal bureaucracy. Fortunately, Congress is
learning that
Washington doesn't always know what's best.
We have a long road of reform ahead of us, though. As
Competitive Enterprise
Institute economist Clyde Wayne Crews observes,
American families currently spend more on regulations than they do
on food,
clothing, transportation, medical care, recreation or savings.
Clearly, America needs protection from federal regulation
and intrusions by
Washington.
Bonner R.
Cohen is senior fellow at the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington
Institute and
editor of EPA Watch.
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