Dear Editor,

In 1776, a group of Americans declared independence from a power-hungry king over the issue of “taxation without representation.”

Today, Americans face a different issue of “regulation without representation.” Historically, legislative authority has remained in the hands of Congress. However, as time has progressed, Congress has been delegating more of its legislative power to agencies run by unelected officials. under the Obama administration, we have seen the EPA drastically expand its control over the waters of the United States, the FCC contemplate declaring the Internet a public utility and many more that have happened in the past few years.

As I have noted, the heads of those agencies are not elected. However, the rules they enacted can have a significant impact on the economy. According to the 2015 “Ten Thousand Commandments Report,” by Clyde Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, “Federal regulation and intervention cost American consumers and businesses an estimated $1.88 trillion in 2014 in lost economic productivity and higher prices,” which amounts to roughly $14,976 per household.

Crews also noted in a blogpost for the CEI’s website that less than one percent of the 3,554 regulations enacted by the federal government were not subject to cost-benefit analysis to make sure they were worth the price. That is a large amount of power that is being used without proper oversight.

To help keep accountability on these agencies, Congressman Todd Young of Indiana and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky have introduced the REINS Act into the U.S. House and Senate, respectively. The act would make every regulation passed that has an impact to the U.S. economy of more than $100 million to a vote at the behest of Congress.

This would still allow for the process of regulations, but would return legislative duties back to Congress and provide oversight, which would be useful in reining in government overreach. It has, fortunately, passed the House but has not passed the Senate. It would b worthwhile to contact your senators to endorse such legislation to make sure it passes. If that happens, we truly can return legislation back to our representatives.

Sincerely,
Brett Heinisch
Political Science Major, Indiana University