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Sen. Mike Lee urges Congress to adopt REINS Act, says major regulations should require approval
Summary
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) delivered a Senate floor speech advocating for the REINS Act, arguing that major federal regulations should require congressional approval and warning of economic costs he says fall disproportionately on lower- and middle-income Americans.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) used a Senate floor speech to press for passage of the REINS Act, saying Congress should require legislative approval of major executive-branch regulations. "The journey of the REINS Act began years ago with a profound recognition that something something was fundamentally wrong with our federal regulatory system," Lee said, arguing that unchecked agency rulemaking has eroded accountability.
Lee framed the proposal as rooted in the Constitution, citing Article I and the need for legislative authority over lawmaking. "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Congress of the United States," he said, and cited Article I, Section 7 as prescribing how legislation must pass the House and Senate before presentation to the president.
In his remarks, Lee argued the REINS Act would increase transparency and accountability by treating major rules more like legislative proposals. He described the law as intended to prevent "unelected bureaucrats" from imposing major regulations without congressional consent and said the measure would give Americans the "basic courtesy of voting on regulations before they have to comply."
Lee repeatedly linked regulatory burdens to economic harms for ordinary Americans. He cited an earlier study he said estimated regulatory compliance costs at "at least $2,000,000,000,000" and said he now believes the figure is "somewhere between 2,000,000,000,000 and $3,000,000,000,000." He said those costs are borne disproportionately by "America's poor and middle class" and by small businesses and entrepreneurs.
He praised the House of Representatives and the House Freedom Caucus for advancing the measure, calling recent House action "a victory for freedom, for common sense, and for the hardworking families who deserve a government that serves, not stifles them." Lee said congressional approval would allow voters to hold lawmakers accountable if they approve rules he termed mistaken.
Lee also offered a plain-language analogy, comparing federal rulebooks to "thousand page jargon filled instruction manuals" that burden people and businesses; he said REINS, which Lee described as an acronym for Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny, would shift major regulatory decisions back to elected representatives.
He closed by urging continued work to advance the reform and thanking the presiding officer. "Thank you, Mister President," Lee said as he concluded his remarks.
