Ernst Works to Rein in Washington Overreach
Working group convenes following Supreme Court ruling that laws come from Congress not bureaucrats
WASHINGTON – Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that reclaimed misplaced power from Washington bureaucrats, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) committed to reshaping the federal government to work better for Americans.
She joined a working group of her colleagues that will regularly meet to decide how best to limit the unlawful exercise of power by the administrative state and how the Senate can more effectively legislate on matters previously left up to federal agencies in light of the monumental Supreme Court decision. They are actively providing oversight of 101 agencies that have published over 50 final rules since the year 2000 to ensure they are applying the new practice.
“Iowans want less government involvement in their lives, but Washington has been systematically expanding its size and scope for far too long,” said Ernst. “The Supreme Court rightly took a sledgehammer to the requirement that courts defer to federal agencies over Americans. Now, we must ensure bureaucratic overreach comes to a swift stop.”
“Congress writes the laws, not unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, which is why I’m joining this working group to rein in the out-of-control regulatory state and fight back against bloated bureaucrats’ decades of unlawful power grabs.”
The group of lawmakers also introduced the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), which places citizens and businesses on equal footing with federal agencies by requiring courts to weigh the merits of the argument instead of automatically showing deference to regulators.
Background:
Ernst urged the Supreme Court in an amicus brief to overturn the Chevron deference doctrine that empowered unelected bureaucrats and to return the power of writing laws to Congress.
Several of Ernst’s solutions to hold bureaucrats accountable and make government work better for the American people include:
- Bringing decision-making closer to the American people and making government responsive to the real needs of Americans by introducing the Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement (SWAMP) Act, which moves the headquarters of federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C. and distributes them across America and among the people most impacted by agency decisions;
- Cutting red tape and repealing outdated requirements by introducing the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which would force a review of current federal regulations to cut down costs and ease the burden on households, family farms, and small businesses; and
- Requiring federal bureaucrats who are “teleworking” on the taxpayer’s dime to show up for work by supporting the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act.
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