Editorial

Stopping overreach by the Biden Administration

Congressman Jerry Carl

President Biden and his Administration have repeatedly abused their power and failed to seek congressional approval to pass various pieces of its radical agenda. During President Biden’s first year in office, he created new rules and regulations that carry a price tag of more than $200 billion. For reference, this is more than four times the costs imposed by President Obama’s rules and regulations during his first year in office.
Biden went even further in 2022 by proposing more than $1 trillion in new regulations. That’s why House Republicans have introduced the REINS Act to fight against extreme overreach by the executive branch. The REINS Act would protect the American people from bearing the burden of new costs by forcing every presidential administration to get approval from Congress before requiring any “major rule.”
A “major rule” is defined as any federal rule or regulation that may result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, a major increase in costs or prices for folks, or have major impacts on the ability of U.S. businesses to compete with foreign businesses. A few examples of “major rules” are President Biden’s $519 billion student loan bailout and the Administration’s bans on oil and gas lease sales in 2021. These decisions have had huge impacts on the American people, and they should have never been put in place.
Congress alone has the authority to implement new laws, and it’s time we reassert this authority.
House Republicans are also standing up for Second Amendment rights by introducing H.J. Res. 44, which overturns a Biden administration Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule classifying a firearm with a stabilizing brace as a short-barreled rifle subject to intense regulation under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the National Firearms Act of 1934. These braces were specifically designed to help disabled veterans safely fire large pistols. Under the Administration’s rule, numerous disabled people have had their Second Amendment rights stripped away.
Whether it’s unnecessary rules driving up the cost of living for millions of Americans or ridiculous regulations on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights, the Biden administration continues overstepping its authority and infringing on our way of life. I will always do everything I can to fight back against this – or any – Administration’s radical agenda and make sure government is working for you, instead of the other way around.