Right in its title, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2017 makes a promise to restore a constitutional balance currently lacking by putting executive branch action back under the scrutiny of Congress. REINS, which passed the House on a near-party-line vote in the opening days of the 115th Congress, would ensure such scrutiny for all major regulations by redesigning federal administrative process so that no affected rule could take force without an affirmative joint resolution of Congress giving it support.
Taken at face value, REINS seems like a game changer for America's administrative state, one that would finally force Congress to take responsibility for the ongoing work of our federal agencies. It has thus been a favorite of those legal conservatives who see delegation of power from Congress to the executive as the bane of our Constitutional system.
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