CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Sept. 5, 2011 – 10:55 a.m.
House Republicans Pursue Regulatory Rollback
By David Harrison, CQ Staff
While the new deficit reduction committee weighs tax and spending options, House Republicans and the Obama administration are preparing for a fall battle over regulatory policy.
Majority Leader
In what could be considered either a gesture of good will or an effort to undercut the ability of Republicans to charge that regulatory zeal is costing Americans jobs, President Obama moved Sept. 2 to abandon a new air pollution standard intended to reduce ground-level ozone. Cass Sunstein, head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said the EPA’s proposed ozone standard would “produce needless uncertainty.”
Obama also unveiled during the August recess a plan to pare the number of rules issued by federal agencies, a move the White House said will save $10 billion over five years and create jobs.
Both the administration and the Republicans cast their regulatory proposals as money-saving ways to spur the economy, suggesting that the coming debate could serve as a proxy for budget and tax issues.
“Each week, one week at a time, we’re going to put one regulation on the floor to roll back,” Cantor said.
Targeting labor and environmental regulations as job killers could provide political momentum for Republicans heading into the 2012 elections, even as their efforts are sure to be vehemently opposed by Democrats.
On Aug. 26, House Speaker
Cantor said the House will consider legislation that would change how agencies and the executive branch write rules. One bill (
Republicans Pick Their Targets
Of chief concern to Republicans, particularly in the House, is the activity of the National Labor Relations Board, which is working on rules some consider too beneficial to labor unions at the expense of employers. The board’s staff has angered Republicans with a complaint that accuses the Boeing Co. of moving a production line to South Carolina in retaliation for union activity in Washington state.
In July, South Carolina Republican
The following week, the House will take up a bill (
House Republicans Pursue Regulatory Rollback
Two weeks later, House leaders plan to press a bill to postpone implementing a rule requiring employers to upgrade their boilers (
Labor Board Under Pressure
The NLRB is on a tight regulatory deadline because upcoming vacancies could render the board powerless. Last month, Chairman Wilma Liebman’s term ended, leaving the board with three members. One of those remaining members, Craig Becker, will see his term expire at year’s end.
With Senate Republicans up in arms over the Boeing case, it is highly unlikely Obama could win confirmation of an NLRB nominee. The Supreme Court ruled last year that the board cannot issue rulings with only two members.
“The dam is broken over there. We’re going to see a lot of cases coming out,” said Randel K. Johnson, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “We’re looking at gridlock on the board come December.”
Recent Rules Bolster Unions
On Aug. 30, the board ruled that certified nursing assistants at a nursing home could join a union even if other facility workers are not unionized. Critics fear the decision could eventually force employers to deal with an increasingly large number of bargaining units containing small numbers of employees.
The labor board also ruled on two cases that would make it more cumbersome for workers or employers to dissolve a bargaining unit. On Aug. 26, the NLRB issued a rule mandating that employers post a notice informing employees of their right to unionize. The agency is also considering another ruling that would speed up the process by which workers vote to join a union.
Those decisions have drawn the ire of
Cantor said the House will take up legislation on the union voting rule during the winter. The AFL-CIO, however, has supported the NLRB’s efforts.