Saturday, January 7, 2017

The REINS Act Goes After Everything at Once


Rather than distract Trump from the critical business of wreaking vengeance on Local officials and tweeting about ratings, the House has moved to make it easier for them to handle all that tedious Deregulating everything. The Koch-promoted REINS Act doesn’t futz around with going after one thing at a time, it’s goes after everything, all at once.

REINS dictates that a “major rule shall not take effect unless the Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval” and won't become law if Congress does not pass that resolution by “70 session days or legislative days, as applicable.”

The idea of a bill that effectively North Carolina’s the power of the Executive, squelching action of Agencies unless they get the mother-may-I from Congress, may actually seem attractive in the Age of Trump. But of course REINS isn’t constructed to stop the wholesale stripping away of rules and guidelines that has the Trump team so eager get their torches on the rulebooks. Deregulating slips right on past without a word. It’s anything new that has to get permission. The House is focused on keeping Agencies crippled, ineffective, and, of course, ridding the system of anything that was created under President Obama.

Executive Branch Agencies will be able to set any rule they want, but only those that pass the scrutiny of Republicans in the House will be enacted.

Trump, having spoken directly to the Koch team about the bill, has already promised to sign it. After all, a bill that keeps him from wasting time on items that don’t generate funds for the Trump Organization is a big win.

What horrors have the Koch’s “Americans for Prosperity” specifically identified as targets of the REINS Act? Net Neutrality, the Clean Power Plan, and Voting Rights. Why these three? Because if the Koch brothers can regulate what Americans see on the Internet, and make it hard enough for people to express their will at the polls, it helps them make their money the old-fashioned way, burning the dirtiest fuel available.

As Trump has staffed up his cabinet, any illusions that there’s a difference between the Koch agenda and the Trump agenda have been blown away.

During his Presidential Campaign, Trump referred to Republicans reliant on Koch money as “puppets” and said he turned down a meeting with the Koch brothers. Yet, the Trump Administration is increasingly loaded with Koch allies.

The way in which the REINS Act seizes the Regulatory powers of Executive Agencies may seem Unconstitutional, but only if you’ve been exposed to a wide range of opinions and Non-House approved information.

I wondered if such a Bill would pass Constitutional muster under a Separation of Powers determination by the Supreme Court?











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
Digg! StumbleUpon

No comments: