Multi-Association Letter to Senate Supporting the Regulatory Accountability Act

Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Schumer:

The undersigned 616 groups from each of the 50 states strongly urge you to consider and pass the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 (RAA), to be introduced by Senator Portman. The RAA recently passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 238-183, and now we urge you to do the same. We believe that federal regulations should be narrowly tailored, supported by strong and credible data and evidence, and impose the least burden possible, while implementing congressional intent.

Now is the time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional legislative authority by ensuring agencies implement congressional intent, not the intent of the agency. With both the new presidential administration and the U.S. House of Representatives agreeing on the urgent need for regulatory reform, the Senate is presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pass much-needed modernization of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), whose rulemaking provisions have remained virtually unchanged since it was enacted in 1946.

The Senate has a unique chance to bring real structural reform to the way agencies adopt the most costly rules that fundamentally change our nation.

The RAA builds on established principles of fair regulatory process and review that have been embodied in bipartisan executive orders dating to at least the Clinton administration. The RAA stands for good governance and getting rules right by bringing transparency, accountability, and integrity to the rulemaking process at federal agencies. With the passage of RAA, Congress would be restoring the checks granted to it by the Constitution over a federal regulatory bureaucracy that is opaque, unaccountable, and at times overreaching in its exercise of authority.

The undersigned groups agree that it is time for a change and strongly support the Regulatory Accountability Act. We urge the members of the Senate to join their House colleagues, who have already passed this critical legislation, by giving it high priority for consideration as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you to enact this important legislation.

(For the full list of signatories, view the letter HERE)