**Audio for this week’s column is unavailable**
Both in my office and when I travel our state, Nebraskans often describe how federal regulations act as obstacles to their success. That’s why one of my priorities in the Senate has been to cut government red tape. Doing so helps Nebraska families and communities thrive. From tackling the Obama administration’s “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, which would have decreased local control over our water resources, to finding reform for how federal agencies operate and approach rulemaking, I have focused on taking power out of the hands of federal regulators and putting it where it belongs: with the people who spend every day working hard to provide for their families.
We have had some success. Since the Obama administration first proposed the WOTUS rule, I have sounded the alarm about the negative effects it would have on all Nebraskans. In February, President Trump answered the call and signed an executive order rolling back this unnecessary regulation. Stopping the rule will prevent increased costs for county road maintenance officials, our Natural Resource Districts, and ag producers by eliminating local control of our water resources. The agencies are already making progress.
I haven’t stopped there. Since 2013, I have worked on a solution to fix the flawed structure of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Headed by a single director, the CFPB increases the regulatory burden on small businesses and families without fully considering the impact on those who have to comply with its rulemaking and enforcement actions. In fact, in 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled the CFPB structure unconstitutional. My Consumer Financial Protection Board Act would address this by replacing the single director of the CFPB with a bipartisan board of directors comprised of five individuals. This much-needed structural adjustment would bring accountability and fairness to the Bureau. In June, the U.S. Department of the Treasury confirmed what I’ve been saying for years about the structural adjustments to the bureau and recommended similar changes my bill would make to the CFPB.
We also need to change how regulators approach the work of rulemaking. In 2015, for example, federal agencies added over 80,000 pages of regulations that cost of $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy. In many cases, federal agencies rely on new local and state agencies to identify and meet implementation costs rather than doing the work themselves. These mandates create burdens on state and local governments and frequently strain Nebraska businesses, as well.
Americans deserve to know how federal rules will affect their lives, and bureaucrats should always announce to the public the cost of their actions on the economy. Recently, Senator James Lankford (R-Ok.) and I reintroduced the Unfunded Mandates and Information Transparency Act. This regulatory reform bill would close loopholes that allow federal agencies to impose mandates on states, local governments, and the private sector without first providing a transparent accounting of their costs. This allows those who will be bound by new regulations to better understand what the impact of these new rules will be.
Advocates for cutting regulations also received reinforcements recently when the Senate confirmed Neomi Rao to serve as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget, the administration’s top regulatory position. I was pleased to vote in support of Neomi Rao’s confirmation as OIRA Administrator because I am hopeful she will cut through reams of government red tape and eliminate misguided federal regulations that hurt families in Nebraska.
It’s time for federal regulators to be held accountable to the people. That’s why Nebraskans sent me to Washington, and that’s what I’ve been working to accomplish.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
