Free Republic

Here is how the people's elected representatives have stacked the deck. I own a small farm, a berry patch, to be exact, and for the particular type of berry that I grow it is much more profitable to market them as organic. I grow everything organically out of choice. However, to market anything as organic the operation must be certified by the government. So, of course I must spend hours filling out and filling out and filling out forms. Of course there are fees, filing fees, inspection fees and certification fees. Then there is the time spent with the inspector...

When I came to Washington years ago, I had a revolutionary glimmer in my eye. I hated big government and I wanted to join a political movement to dismantle it. That was a long time ago, yet sometimes that rage kicks in when I read about the creeping socialism that is slowly destroying America.The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) put out a study today titled “Ten Thousand Commandments – An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.” The results will make you spitting mad.The author Wayne Crews, Vice President for Policy at CEI, found that federal regulation cost $1.88 trillion in...

With the President delaying, again, parts of Obamacare, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner have declared they will not raise the debt ceiling unless the President does two things: (1) delay Obamacare by a year and (2) approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. In fact, Congressman Paul Ryan is standing shoulder to shoulder with them, telling Robert Costa, “Shutting down the government puts us on the wrong side. The fight is on the debt limit”. Further, the GOP won’t even bother fighting on a continuing resolution because they feel so strongly the debt ceiling is the path forward...

Over the decades, the federal regulatory state has grown while legislative control over those regulatory policies has declined, and back in 2010, the GOP came up with the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act as part of their red-tape reining Pledge to America. The REINS Act would make major regulations (defined as those with a calculated price tag of $100 million or more) contingent upon Congressional approval, and it’s been introduced in each of the past three Congresses but obviously never stood a chance in the Senate. The House is poised to vote once again on the...

Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, who has flexed his political muscle by backing victorious Tea Party candidates in Republican primaries across the nation, introduced legislation on Wednesday aimed at restricting the ability of federal agencies to issue new regulations. Mr. DeMint has accused the Obama administration of strangling various sectors of the economy with onerous regulations, and his bill would require Congressional approval of any new “major rule” – that is any regulation that “may result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more.” The bill is called the Reins Act, which stands for...

The REINS Act would require every major rule proposed by federal agencies to be approved by a joint resolution passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president before it could take effect. (CNSNews.com) – Senate Republicans on Wednesday introduced a bill that would require congressional approval for major regulations issued by federal agencies."We must put a stop to the reckless and costly anti-free market regulations that are destroying jobs,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who sponsored the bill. The REINS Act is intended to restore accountability. It would require every major rule proposed by federal agencies to be...