OVERNIGHT REGULATION: GOP's small biz bill, take three
January 26, 2015
Welcome to OVERNIGHT REGULATION, your daily rundown of enforcement news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Monday evening here in Washington and all eyes are on the nor’easter named Juno. Luckily the blizzard is blowing north of us, but before we freak out over the white fluffy stuff that’s expected to dust D.C., here’s today’s biggest news and tomorrow’s most compelling story lines from the federal agencies and Congress.
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THE BIG STORY
Members of the House are hoping the third time is a charm.
The House Judiciary Committee plans to take another look at the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act, now called the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, on Tuesday. The bill would require government regulators to include the indirect impacts, in addition to the direct impacts of a rule. It passed the last two sessions in the House, but failed to move in the Democratic-led Senate.
Now with Republican control of Congress, the National Federation of Independent Business said it hopes the bill, reintroduced Monday by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), will get through both chambers.
Indirect impacts can be hard to quantify, but NFIB Manager of
Regulatory Policy Dan Bosch said it’s important to know how a rule will fully affect the economy.
"In this administration, we often hear agencies talk about the benefits of rules and many times they’re taking into account indirect benefits, so the costs should be calculated the same way," he said.
The bill would also force agencies to hold a small business advocacy review panel when a rule impacts a large number of small businesses, giving them a greater voice in the rule making process.
Bosch said NFIB is hoping to see the regulatory flexibility improvements act reach the House floor in a couple of weeks.
"We’ll definitely be strong advocates for it when it gets there."
But pro-regulation advocates say this bill is a small business bill in name only.
"The proof is that the bill will end up delaying or blocking rules that don’t have any direct impact on small businesses, such as Wall Street reforms that affect only the mega banks," said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen.
"The last thing our country needs is another deregulation driven financial crash that ravages small banks and small businesses across the country."
ON TAP FOR TUESDAY
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee will meet to discuss giving Department Secretary Robert McDonald the authority to recoup bonuses and awards paid to department employees.http://1.usa.gov/
The House is expected to consider the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act, which aims to expand liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The bill would place a 30-day deadline on the Department of Energy to issue a final decision on applications to export LNGs. http://1.usa.gov/1g8AsWn
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will have a full hearing on fixing the No Child Left Behind law and supporting teachers and school leaders. The panel of witnesses is expected to include Terry Holliday, the commissioner of education for the commonwealth of Kentucky.http://1.usa.gov/
The Department of Defense, the Air Force and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board will meet to discuss the board’s 2015 studies of cyber vulnerabilities on air and space systems and drones.http://1.usa.gov/
TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY
The Obama administration will publish 162 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register.
Here’s what to watch:
—The Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) will weigh in on new banking protections for college students.
Schools often endorse checking accounts, debit cards, and credit cards offered by local banks. The CFPB’s latest draft guidance aims to help schools determine which banking services are safe to recommend to their students.
"Because of the influence schools may have on the financial products students choose, we are working to arm them with the information they need to negotiate safe and affordable products for students," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said.
The public has until March 9 to comment. http://bit.ly/18lIYVF
-The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will better protect hospital patients undergoing X-rays and CT scans.
The EPA’s new radiation protection guidance encourages medical facilities to keep patient’s radiation exposure "as low as reasonably achievable" when performing x-rays.
The voluntary guidelines will serve as best practices recommendations for federal medical facilities like Veterans Affairs hospitals, but will also go out to state and private sector institutions.http://bit.ly/
-The EPA will also change its acquisitions regulations to better protect human subjects and laboratory animals.
The changes go into effect in 60 days. http://bit.ly/1DbRfoA
-The EPA will also loosen the standards for certain chemical substances that are considered harmless to health and the environment.
These chemical substances will be subject to fewer reporting requirements.
The changes go into effect in 60 days. http://bit.ly/1LbPiOA
-The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will issue new maintenance and testing requirements at bulk power plants.
The changes to the reliability standards will test the reclosing relays at these power plants to make sure they are operating in a safe manner.
The changes go into effect in 60 days. http://bit.ly/1Db70w6
NEWS RIGHT NOW
Death penalty: The Supreme Court will hear a case from death row inmates challenging Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedures. http://bit.ly/
Weight loss: The company behind a Dr. Oz-backed weight-loss supplement has been fined $9 million by federal regulators for misleading consumers. http://bit.ly/
Dodd-Frank: A powerful bank lobbyist is reminding lawmakers that the financial-reform legislation isn’t one of the Bible's Ten Commandments and shouldn’t be treated as sacred. http://bit.ly/15DQ6L6
Drones: After a drone was discovered on White House grounds, a top Senator is calling for regulators to swiftly address the issues posed by these unmanned aerial devices. http://bit.ly/1C8LgUs
Paid leave: House Democrats are pushing legislation that would give federal employees six weeks of paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child. http://bit.ly/18lOnMf
Small business: House Republicans will look at legislation that would give small business relief from heavy-handed regulations. http://bit.ly/
Insider trading: The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to reverse a major insider trading ruling that led two hedge fund managers off the hook, Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/
Rich: President Obama’s nominee to serve on the Federal Reserve reported more than $40 million in personal assets, Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/
Dropped calls: Verizon will pay $5 million to settle government claims that calls did not go through to some customers in rural areas, Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/
BY THE NUMBERS
43 million: Number of private-sector U.S. workers without any paid sick leave.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"No one ever confused Capitol Hill for Mount Sinai. But some today think the Dodd-Frank Act is as set in stone as the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, Frank Keating, chief of the American Bankers Association, wrote in USA Today.
We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://thehill.com/regulation
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