Support the Reset Act, H.R. 3442

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Reset Act, H.R. 3442, introduced by Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.). The bill would require a review of all major federal regulations and allow Congress the option to overturn any such regulation through a majority vote in both houses.

The introduction of this legislation follows the massive success in the 115th Congress of using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn federal regulations made in the past 60 legislative days through a joint resolution of disapproval. The CRA was enacted in 1996, and had, through the 114th Congress, only been successfully used once to overturn a federal regulation. In the 115th Congress alone to date – a period of less than a year – the CRA has been used successfully fifteen times.

Because the CRA is limited to rules made in the past 60 legislative days, its scope is unfortunately limited. The Reset Act would allow Congress to overturn, through a joint resolution of disapproval, any major rule that is currently in effect. Congress, as the lawmaking body of the federal government, should have the jurisdiction to review major rules that are on the books, and disapprove of them if they are not needed or do not properly carry out the law that Congress passed.

Under the Reset Act, a study would determine how many total rules and major rules are currently in effect as well as their economic cost, and Congress would be allowed to overturn through disapproval any such major regulations it deems unnecessary.

These measures would hold the bloated federal bureaucracy more accountable and responsive to the needs of the country, and Congress would take back more control of its rightful Article I powers. For these reasons, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Reset Act, H.R. 3442.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks