Overregulation
One measure of the growth of the government and bureaucratic red tape is the number of pages added to the Federal Register, which contains notices of all federal agency rules and regulations. In the past five years, new rules and regulations have added an average of 215 pages per day to the Federal Register. This perpetually growing, constantly changing regulatory environment hampers investment, increases the incidence of frivolous lawsuits, and kills job creation. One study suggests that the weight of these regulations has reduced real annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth by an average of 2 percent each year since 1949. This has greatly reduced average income and in an era of less than 2 percent growth, is enough to dramatically impact household income and unemployment.
My goal in Congress is to reduce these regulatory burdens that impact nearly every aspect of our lives, from the health care plans we can buy to the light bulbs we can use. Among the steps I have taken to roll back these government intrusions into our lives:
- I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 367, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which passed the House on August 2, 2013. The REINS Act is an effort to restore a measure of accountability for federal rules and regulations to Congress, requiring any rule or regulation with an economic impact of $100 million or more – already scored and identified by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget as a “major regulation” – be approved by Congress for an up-or-down vote before taking effect. This reduces the regulatory drag on the economy and imposes additional accountability upon the unelected bureaucrats that conduct “legislation by regulation.”
- I have opposed at every turn the President’s Climate Action Plan, which would prevent the construction of new coal plants and gradually shutter existing facilities. These regulations would be harmful to the nation’s economy – which receives nearly 40 percent of its electricity from coal – and absolutely devastating to Kentucky, for which the similar figure is over 90 percent.
- The Administration’s regulatory War on Coal has exacerbated the elimination of over 7,000 jobs in eastern Kentucky in just the last few years, putting Kentucky’s coal employment at its lowest level since records were first kept by the Commonwealth in 1927. As a cosponsor of H.R. 1829, the Coal Jobs Protection Act, I feel we cannot stand idly by and watch as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deadlocks the coal permitting process. This legislation would put an appropriate time limit on consideration of coal permit applications.
More on Overregulation
On November 20, Congressman Andy Barr called on President Obama to work with Congress on immigration reform instead of ignoring the will of the people and issuing a unilateral executive order:
TRANSCRIPT
Mr. Speaker –
The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly - they want Congress and the President to work together in a bipartisan manner to deliver real solutions to the problems facing our country - one of which is our broken immigration system.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jamie Hennigan (202) 637-3090
Barr Honored with Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence
Nation’s Largest Industrial Trade Association Names Barr “Champion of Manufacturing”
On September 17, 2014, the National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy association which gives small-business owners on Main Street a voice in public policy-making, announced that they have named Congressman Barr a "Guardian of Small Business" for his outstanding voting record on behalf of America’s small-business owners in the 113th Congress.
Congressman Andy Barr made the following statement upon being recognized:
Congressman Andy Barr released the following statement today after the House passed H.R. 5078, the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014, which prevents overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency, reinforces the Clean Water Act of 1972, and upholds the federal-state partnership to regulate America's waters:
LEXINGTON – Congressman Andy Barr released the following statement after touring JENNMAR in Winchester:
LEXINGTON – Congressman Andy Barr took on a new role Friday, August 22, serving as a “Teller for a Day” at the Citizens Guaranty Bank in Berea.
“I enjoyed being a ‘Teller for a Day’ and getting a first-hand look at the kind of hard work being done by community bankers here in Berea and across Kentucky,” said Congressman Barr. “Our community banks are a critical resource for Kentuckians looking to responsibly gain access to the credit they need – including credit to purchase a home, pay for higher education, or even invest in their business.”
America’s freedom is only possible because of the sacrifice and bravery of our veterans and servicemen and women. However, recent reports of gross mismanagement and falsified data records at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), coupled with an utter lack of accountability at the agency, denies our heroes the care they have more than earned.
This is unconscionable and completely unacceptable.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06) applaud the bipartisan effort to pass H.R. 5062, the Examination and Supervisory Privilege Parity Act of 2014. The legislation clarifies the sharing of information between federal and state regulators that license, supervise or examine consumer financial products or services, it will not waive or affect any privilege during the examination process.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Andy Barr joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to introduce H.R. 4646, the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2014. H.R. 4646 would reform the Code of Federal Regulations and create a commission tasked with eliminating or revising outdated or redundant federal regulations.