Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Ben Cline’s (VA-06) Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act (H.R. 357), cosponsored by Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation will provide greater accountability to taxpayers in the regulatory process by requiring all rules, except in limited circumstances, to be signed and issued by an individual appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Rep. Ben Cline said, “For too long, costly regulatory burdens have been imposed by unelected career bureaucrats, rather than an individual confirmed by the Senate. That is unacceptable. Passage of this legislation on the House Floor is a step in the right direction to help rein in Washington bureaucrats’ overreach of power and ensure a government that is accountable to the American people.”

Rep. Jared Golden said, “It’s simple: federal regulations should be made by officials who are accountable to the American people. House passage of this common-sense, bipartisan bill brings us one step closer to a more responsible and responsive government.”

Read more about Congressman Cline’s bill exclusively on Fox News.

The Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act is Rep. Cline’s first legislation to pass the House floor in the 118^th Congress. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Cosponsors: Jared Golden (ME-02), Scott Perry (PA-10), Mary Miller (IL-15), Mark Green (TN-07), Andy Ogles (TN-05), Josh Brecheen (OK-02), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Michael Guest (MS-03), Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Harriet Hageman (WY), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Debbie Lesko (AZ-08), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Eli Crane (AZ-02), Russell Fry (SC-07), Lance Gooden (TX-05), and Mark Alford (MS-04)

Background

• According to a 2019 study by the Pacific Legal Foundation, 98% of all rules that came out of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2001 and 2017 were issued “illegally” by non-Senate confirmed officials and that other agencies had similar problems.
• The study found that 25 of those rules had an economic impact of more than $100 million and that the FDA’s high incidence of rules issued by minor officials meant that more than 70% of all HHS rules were “unconstitutional.”
• In 2021, Congress passed 143 laws while federal agencies issued 3,257 rules. Such agency rules have an estimated cost of $1.927 trillion annually, which is the equivalent of $14,684 per U.S. household each year.

Congressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.

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