The House on Regulation: TRAIN Passes, Net Neutrality is Law

Wed, 2011-09-28 15:46 | Regulation | Sam Batkins
Printer-friendly version

A hit for regulatory reform.  Last week Congress took the first step toward reform with passage of Representative Sullivan’s TRAIN Act, 249-169.  (Four Republicans opposed the measure: Charlie Bass, Judy Biggert, Robert Dold, and Nan Hayworth.)  The bill would restrain onerous EPA rulemakings and create a committee to analyze the cumulative impact of regulations on the energy and manufacturing sector.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will likely wait in legislative purgatory along with other strong pieces of legislation. 

Net Neutrality is Law

At long last, federal regulators got around to publishing the controversial net neutrality rules last Friday.  The 44-page rule lacks a quantifiable cost-benefit analysis and anticipates somewhat minor paperwork burdens. 

Final publication in the Federal Register does allow plaintiffs to challenge the law and the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate the regulation without congressional authority.  Verizon, already a successful plaintiff challenging previous attempts at net neutrality, plans to bring suit again.   

Next Week

According to the Cantor Memo, the week of October 3rd will focus on the Boiler MACT and Cement MACT rules from EPA.  (MACT refers to “Maximum Achievable Control Technology,” which is generally the strictest pollution control standard.)

Combined, the two rules could:

  • Impose more than $2.6 billion in industry costs;
  • Require 362,000 annual paperwork burden hours; and
  • Eliminate 20,000 U.S. jobs, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.

Senator Susan Collins has even remarked that the Boiler MACT rule could force small businesses to “scrap” newer, more efficient boilers if EPA adopts the proposed rule.

In response, Senator Collins has introduced, along with Senator John Barrasso, S. 1538, the Regulatory Time-Out Act of 2011.  The bill would:

  • Impose a one-year moratorium on “significant” new rules from all federal agencies;
  • Block rules that could hurt the economy, jobs, or U.S. competitiveness; and
  • Allow emergency regulations and positive deregulatory measures that help to create jobs.