Upton Votes to Provide Relief for Michigan Small Business, Ensure Government Accountability

Press Release

Nearly 75 percent of all small businesses report that government regulations are hurting their bottom line operations, according to a January 2013 Wells Fargo/Gallup survey. Last year, federal rulemaking imposed a financial burden of $1.75 trillion on the U.S. economy -- a figure that equaled almost 14 percent of national income. The House of Representatives today passed common-sense legislation to provide regulatory relief for these employers and guarantee that federal bureaucrats are held accountable to Congress and the American people. Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, is an original cosponsor of H.R. 367, the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which passed by a vote of 232-183.

"Unnecessary regulations unilaterally imposed by Washington bureaucrats are cutting into the bottom line of Michigan employers, making it more costly for them to do business and harder to create jobs. We should be incentivizing entrepreneurship and industry, not punishing it," said Upton.

"The REINS Act helps Michigan employers focus on their operations while restoring legislative authority to Congress to prevent excessive future regulation."

In 2009, federal agencies promulgated more than 3,500 rules, while Congress and the President signed into law only 125 statutes. The REINS Act holds federal bureaucrats accountable by requiring agencies to submit major regulations to Congress for approval and guaranteeing that no major rule can become effective until Congress approves it. H.R. 367 also provides that an up-or-down vote occur on major rules within 70 legislative days of being submitted to Congress.

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