Rep. Robert Hurt Amendment Strengthens Legislation To Increase Federal Regulatory Accountability

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 1062, The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, an initiative by the House Committee on Financial Services to ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission is being held accountable to the American people in its rule-making. To increase federal regulatory accountability, Congressman Hurt offered an amendment to H.R. 1062 that was adopted by the House of Representatives and requires that all organizations under the purview of the SEC abide by the same more stringent standards of cost-benefit analysis set forth in H.R. 1062. Hurt's amendment was adopted with bipartisan support:

 

"With the SEC playing a critical role in facilitating capital formation and protecting investors, the Commission is at the forefront of ensuring that our Main Street Businesses across the 5^th District and the country have access to the capital they need to start, hire, and expand their businesses. However, like all federal agencies, too often the costs of the rules promulgated by the SEC far outweigh the potential benefits to the American people. Too often, SEC rules serve to discourage investment, stall markets, and serve as a barrier to capital formation and job creation.

 

"At a time when our Main Street businesses are drowning in a sea of red tape, it is especially critical that Congress exercises its constitutional responsibility to ensure that the bureaucratic rules are not unnecessarily burdening our job creators and our economy. The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, now expanded to require all organizations under the SEC to undergo a more stringent cost benefit analysis and filter out unnecessary rules, is one more step toward doing just that. I was proud to support this commonsense legislation as the House took one more step today toward reining in excessive federal regulations, holding the federal government accountable, and removing the federal government as a barrier to job creation for the people of Virginia's 5^th District and all Americans."

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H.R. 1062, The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act: A recent report released by the Administration indicates President Obama's regulatory agenda in 2012 imposed more costs on the economy than the previous two administrations combined. However, some agencies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are not currently required to conduct cost benefit analysis on their proposed rules. As an independent agency, the SEC is not currently subject to President Obama's Executive Order No. 13563 which directs non independent executive branch agencies to perform a cost benefit analysis on proposed regulations, tailor those regulations to impose the least burden on society, and retrospectively analyze old rules to identify those ripe for repeal. H.R. 1062 would codify President Obama's Executive Order No. 13563 with regard to the SEC. It would require the SEC to:

 

·         Perform a cost benefit analysis of proposed regulations

·         Identify and assess alternatives to those regulations

·         Tailor regulations to impose the least burden on society

·         Choose the regulatory approach that maximizes net benefits

·         Review existing regulations within one year of enactment

 

*Congressman Robert Hurt's Amendment improves H.R. 1062 to ensure that all organizations under the SEC's purview abide by the same more stringent standards listed above.