Congressmen Norman & Gosar Introduce Regulatory Improvement Bill

Press Release

Today, Congressmen Ralph Norman (SC-05) and Paul Gosar (AZ-04) introduced a House companion bill to Senator James Lankford's (R-OK) S. 578, the Better Evaluation of Science and Technology (BEST) Act to improve rulemaking processes in Federal agencies.

Congressman Norman, Congressman Gosar, and Senator Lankford have released the following statements:

Congressman Norman: "Today, I am proud to have introduced my first bill in the United States Congress with Congressman Gosar. This bill, the BEST Act, supports transparent and commonsense rulemaking across all Federal agencies. This bill requires each agency, before making a rule that would affect all Americans, to use the "best available" science. No longer are rules going to be made by Federal agencies behind closed doors and unavailable to Congress and the public.

"Since 2009, the operational cost of our nation's regulations exceeds $100 billion annually. Many times, Congress, as well as the American people, can be left in the dark on these why these regulations were made. This BEST Act would reverse this long-standing course of action and show why and how certain regulations are being established. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and our Senate companion, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), to push this bill through the legislative process and to President Trump's desk. If we are a government of the people, we need to be as transparent as possible so that we're also a government for the people."

Congressman Gosar: "The federal government should not be able to make regulations without providing the public with the science to back them up.

"Science-based rules should be founded in fact, not fiction. Past administrations have been keen to pick and choose scientific studies that support their political agenda rather than the American people. The BEST Act will not only make the rule-making process public but will also assist in making those rules more intellectually sound -- not based on the conversation of the day."

Senator Lankford: "I commend Congressmen Ralph Norman and Paul Gosar for their leadership and introducing the BEST Act in the House. This is a common-sense bill that will bring greater scientific transparency and accountability to the regulatory process, no matter who the president is. This is a win-win because it will ultimately result in better regulations, based on proven scientific standards rather than preference or ideology."

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