The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), which would reform the federal regulatory process by cutting red tape.
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Heidi Heitkamp
(D-ND) introduced the bipartisan legislation in April, which they said was designed to make federal regulations more effective so they better support businesses, families, and jobs.
The RAA would modify the Administrative Procedures Act, passed in 1946. It would overturn doctrines extending judicial deference to regulatory agency interpretations of ambiguous legislation, would require agencies to account for and reduce the impact of new regulations on small businesses, and would require agencies to identify what impact new regulations would have on jobs and wages.
Passage would mean greater public input, the AIA said.
In January, the House passed RAA by a vote of 288-183. The following month, the AIA sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“The RAA stands for good governance and getting rules right by bringing transparency, accountability, and integrity to the rulemaking process at federal agencies,” the letter said. “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.”
Regulations should be narrowly tailored and have a low burden, the letter said. AIA said 616 signatories from all 50 states signed the letter that reflected their support of the legislation.