GOP pushes Obama on industry regulations

CNN ^ | Updated 12:07 PM EST, Mon October 3, 2011 | CNN Wire Staff

[¢ommon ¢ents]

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent a letter urging President Barack Obama to support GOP-sponsored legislation Monday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Top Republicans send a letter to Obama asking support for two GOP regulatory relief bills
• The GOP pushes for changing EPA regulations and easing up on the cement industry
• Obama has been pushing a $447 billion job creation plan

Washington (CNN) -- House Republicans tried to seize the political upper hand in the job-creation debate Monday, urging President Barack Obama to support GOP-sponsored legislation designed to ease industry burdens imposed by environmental regulations, among other things.

Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other GOP leaders sent a letter to the president noting that the Republican-controlled House is scheduled to consider two bills this week -- an "EPA Regulatory Relief Act" requiring authorities to reissue certain rules in a "less burdensome manner," and a "Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act" requiring regulators to reconsider rules affecting an industry critical to new construction.

[¢ommon ¢ents]

More about this week's "4Jobs" bills.

Again, I ask, where is the push for true, comprehensive regulatory relief. Why not require all regulations to have Congressional ratification before they take effect with the "force of law." Isn't that what Article 1 of the Constitution means? Don't Republicans believe in the words, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."? Where does it say that the EPA gets to make new laws through regulation?

The Republicans have a partial solution to this. It's the REINS Act. While I'd prefer to see every regulation that is imposed on with the "force of law" should be reviewed and ratified by a vote in both Houses of Congress, the REINS Act is a start in the right direction. So, what are the Republicans pushing? Relief from Cement regulations?

[Sequoyah101]

Yup, Cement Regulations. Real tigers and crusaders against the tens of thousands of useless and horribly costly regulations that have been imposed upon us by politicians and bureaucrats.

We have not seen rain in Texas since this time last year that amounted to much more than settling the dust. Despite that we were still required to erect silt fences in the middle of a field as flat as a billiard table for a job of less than five days.

Brilliant.