Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman French Hill (AR-02), issued the following statement after supporting the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, that helps clarify how federal policies impact the budgets of state and local governments and private sector employees:

“Arkansans and Americans deserve complete transparency and accountability from Washington. It’s a great disservice to the public when regulators create rules without any consideration for how they could be passing heavy costs onto job creators, local governments, and families. Today’s vote in the House is a strong message to Washington bureaucrats of ‘no more’ to harmful regulations.”

Background:

The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, H.R. 50, increases transparency about the costs imposed by unfunded mandates and would hold the federal government accountable for considering those costs before passing them on to local governments and small businesses.

This legislation would expand the scope of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), which was passed to ensure public awareness of the financial burden federal mandates place on employers and state and local governments. Current loopholes within UMRA allow certain regulatory bodies to escape public reporting requirements and incentivize others to forego publicizing regulatory proposals. The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act would correct this.

Additionally the bill:

• Closes loopholes in the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act and increases the existing analysis requirements to improve the quality and regulations and identify unduly burdensome or harmful federal mandates.

• Impose stricter and more clearly defined requirements for how and when federal agencies must disclose the cost of federal mandates;

• Ensure those who will be affected have the opportunity to weigh in on proposed mandates;

• Equip Congress and the public with tools and to better determine the true cost of regulations; and

• Provide an accountability mechanism to ensure the federal government and its independent regulatory agencies adhere to the provisions set forth by H.R. 50 and its predecessor, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.