Rep. David Rouzer
Washington, D.C. – House Republicans unveiled a comprehensive plan to grow the economy by regulating smarter, delivering affordable and reliable energy, ending bailouts, putting students and workers first and cracking down on lawsuit abuse. This plan, referred to as “A Better Way to Grow Our Economy,” puts forth 101 recommendations and is the product of several months of taskforce meetings and discussions.
“America should be the best place in the world to live, work, innovate and start a business; however, the heavy hand of the federal government is thwarting the potential of American citizens and businesses.
‘A Better Way to Grow our Economy’ is a plan to curtail the cost, complexity and uncertainty of federal regulations responsible for stifling our economy.
Our regulatory system is out of date, costly and no longer reflects the economy of today. House Republicans believe the federal government should work for you – not against you. Our plan promotes competition, demands accountability, fosters growth, promotes financial independence and ends federal bailouts so that our economy and businesses can grow and good paying jobs can be created.”
Eliminate Job Killing Regulations
In 2015, regulations cost our economy $1.89 trillion in lost productivity and growth. Our plan stops bad regulations in their tracks by giving Congress the authority to approve all rules that would cost our economy more than $100 million a year. Our plan puts regulators on a budget by giving each agency a limit on the amount of regulatory costs they can impose each fiscal year. Agencies will also be required to publish the cost, including the costs of jobs lost, of new rules to foster accountability and transparency within these agencies. An independent commission will also be established to look over past regulations to see what has become outdated and to identify regulations that are no longer necessary and can be weeded out responsibly.
Energy Independence
“A Better Way to Grow Our Economy” seeks to deliver affordable and reliable energy by preventing agencies from keeping our resources in the ground and delaying vital energy infrastructure projects. Energy development will be accelerated by reforming the permitting process so that we may secure reliable and affordable energy. Under our plan, states are also given more control of federal land within their borders to jumpstart economic activity. We also make it easier to produce more of our own energy resources by rewriting the Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and Natural Gas Leasing Plan to foster responsible offshore energy production.
Promote Free Enterprise
Our plan puts faith in free enterprise, not the federal government. “A Better Way to Grow our Economy” fundamentally reforms the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to empower Americans and help them achieve financial independent. We seek to put an end to union favoritism by reining in the National Labor Relations Board and guaranteeing fair union elections and ensuring bargaining units promote the best interests of all workers in the workplace.
Rein in Lawsuits
Lastly, our plan seeks to stop lawsuit abuse. One study found that liability costs in the United States are more than 2.5 times more than that of Eurozone countries. Our plan reforms the system to stop baseless lawsuits, prevent trial lawyers from gaming the system and crack down on “sue and settle” practices.
Under the leadership of Speaker Paul Ryan, members of the House Republican Conference have participated in regular taskforce meetings in an effort to address and combat our nation’s biggest challenges – including poverty, national security, the economy, the Constitution, healthcare and tax reform. “A Better Way to Grow our Economy” is the third framework of ideas released.
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