WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, a bill requiring congressional approval for any federal rule or regulation with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, passed the House of Representatives last night on a bipartisan vote of 237-187.

    Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D., cosponsored and voted for the legislation to rein in executive branch regulations which, according to the latest figures from the free-market Mercatus Center, reduce U.S. economic growth by approximately .8 percent annually, the equivalent of $4 trillion or $13,000 per American worker each year. Under the Obama Administration, the economy has grown at an historically low rate, creating too many part-time jobs, said Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04).

    He also voted for the Midnight Rules Relief Act this week, another bill to rein in agency rulemaking. “Unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats are making law and harming the ability of entrepreneurs, small businesses and hard workers in Tennessee from pursuing their dreams and providing for themselves and their families,” he said, citing stagnant business start-ups and incomes nationwide.

    “Unlike taxes, complex rules and regulations are often an indirect cost but perhaps an even greater threat to the freedom of anyone who wants to buy a car, a home, or pursue the next great American idea,” he said. “Unfortunately, the current Administration, more than any other, is attempting to curtail our personal and economic liberties by executive fiat.”

    The Obama Administration has set records for pages of federal regulations, issuing a slew of last-minute regulations during the lame-duck period before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, largely on a promise to roll back restrictions on health care choices, energy production and financial opportunities to help middle-class families meet their needs.

    The REINS Act, which the House has approved in multiple sessions, is one of the most popular solutions to executive overreach, a priority of the current 115^th Congress. The incoming president has promised to sign it into law. “I’m hopeful that more such solutions, long overdue, will finally become law, when a President who sees eye-to-eye with the people of Tennessee takes office in just two weeks,” said Rep. DesJarlais.

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