The House Tuesday voted in favor of legislation that if passed by the Senate would limit the power of nearly all regulatory agencies, including the FCC.
Called the Regulatory Accountability Act, the bill seeks to restrict the creation of any significant new regulations by virtually every single federal agency.
A Huffington Post report notes that opponents of the measure are calling it a “stealth attack” by Republicans because it attacks obscure parts of the regulatory process but is so broad that it affects every government agency.
The White House said the President would ultimately veto the bill if it makes it through the Senate.
“The Regulatory Accountability Act would impose unprecedented and unnecessary procedural requirements on agencies that would prevent them from efficiently performing their statutory responsibilities,” the White House said in a statement. “It would also create needless regulatory and legal uncertainty and further impede the implementation of protections for the American public.”
Katie Weatherford, Regulatory Policy Analyst for the Center for Effective Government, said that passage of the Regulatory Accountability Act would significantly affect the FCC’s ability to create and pass meaningful regulations. The FCC, which is digging in for a fight to reclassify Internet service providers as public utilities, declined to comment on the matter.
The Regulatory Accountability Act was passed by the House in 2013 and in 2014 but was rejected by what was then a Democrat-controlled Senate.
Weatherford said she expects a version of the Act to be introduced in Senate soon. “I think that it has a chance of getting enough votes to pass in the Senate,” she said but declined to comment on whether the bill would get enough votes for a super majority, which would serve to override Obama’s veto pen.
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications