Bill of the Month — June 2023: Red Tape Reduction Act

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s (TPA) Bill of the Month for June 2023 is the Red Tape Reduction Act, introduced by Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.). This legislation would codify five deregulatory executive orders (EO) to reduce the amount of regulatory red tape and rein in the federal government.

Background:

On January 30, 2017, then-President Donald Trump issued EO 13771, which required any Executive agency or department proposing a new regulation to simultaneously propose two regulations to be removed. The EO also required that new regulations result in a net-negative cost, either saving taxpayer dollars or requiring no new funding. If a proposed regulation costs more than $0, it must be funded by cutting others. This sensible and flexible EO empowered the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to exempt regulations or agencies from the order.

On February 24, 2017, Trump signed EO 13777, requiring each agency head to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer responsible for overseeing the implementation of regulatory reform. Additionally, it requires each agency to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations to the agency head regarding regulations to repeal, replace, or modify.

On October 9, 2019, Trump issued EO 13891, which prohibits federal agencies from issuing binding rules through agency-issued guidance documents without approval from Congress. He also issued EO 13892, which required agencies to promote transparency by providing the public with fair notice of any regulation.

On October 10, 2019, Trump signed EO 13893, ensuring agencies returned to compliance with administrative pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements set forth in 2005. This mandates that agencies propose reductions to mandatory spending when they take actions that increase mandatory spending.  

All these EOs were revoked by President Biden on January 20, 2021 (his first day of office) via EO 13992.

Red Tape Reduction Act:

When combined, these executive orders reduce the size and scope of the federal government, save taxpayer dollars, and promote agency efficiency and transparency. President Biden sent a clear signal about how he intended to govern on day one when he overturned all of them simultaneously. The Biden administration’s agencies and departments are free to issue new regulations that increase mandatory spending without offsets.  They are also not required to evaluate their regulations for duplicative or costly programs. And, agencies are allowed to sneakily issue binding rules through guidance, not notify the public of new regulations and are not subject to PAYGO. This reckless revocation has undoubtedly yielded a less transparent and less accountable executive branch.

The Red Tape Reduction Act would codify all of these, promoting a more efficient and effective regulatory process that saves taxpayer dollars. It is for these reasons, among others, that TPA is proud to make the Red Tape Reduction Act, introduced by Reps. Hinson, Bishop, and Valadao, its Bill of the Month for June 2023.