With One Last Effort to Dismantle Health, Safety, & Environmental Protections, House Republicans Jet for August Vacation

(WASHINGTON) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 232 to 183 to pass H.R. 367, the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act.” After passage of the legislation, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

“Without question, the ‘REINS Act’ will have dangerous consequences for all Americans, chiefly by creating an unworkable approval process for regulations that will make it nearly impossible for new safeguards go into effect. With everything from health and safety protections for working families to rules ensuring clean air and water, this legislation would undermine these essential regulations,” said Conyers.

“This incredibly flawed legislation would require Congress, under impossible deadlines, to consider and pass exceedingly complex and technical regulatory safeguards before they could take effect. As a result, the bill would significantly delay critical rulemaking at best, or bring it to a complete halt at worst. This means that proposed regulatory safeguards pertaining to the Affordable Care Act, the Vaccines for Children Program, the Federal student loan programs, and the Veteran’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program – amongst many other vital programs – would all be jeopardized.

“In just the last few months, we have seen the Supreme Court gut the heart of the Voting Rights Act, we have learned of the National Security Agency’s blanket surveillance of the American public, and we have a level of unemployment that remains stubbornly high. Yet, rather than work in a bipartisan fashion to address these issues of overwhelming concern to the American people, House Republicans have opted to pursue an ideologically driven assault against regulations that safeguard our health, safety, and environment. As we head back to our districts for the month of August, I hope that my Republican colleagues use this time to reconsider their agenda, and put the needs of the American people first.”

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