Regulatory Action Center Review - July 2, 2019

Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s eleventh regulatory review of 2019! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in two weeks for the next edition.

1) Video of the Week: In this video, the Claremont Institute’s John Marini discusses the growing influence of the ‘administrative state’ in Washington.

2) Trump Deregulation Will Boost Household Income by $3,100, Report Finds: “The Trump administration deregulation efforts will raise incomes by about $3,100 per household over the next five to 10 years, and sharply reduce prices for consumers, according to a report released Friday by the White House Council of Economic Advisers.” https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/06/28/trump-deregulation-will-boost-household-income-by-3100-report-finds/

3) How Team Trump is Keeping Drug Prices Down: “President Trump signed an executive order last week to help you easily find the typical price — and what you would actually owe — for major health services before you have to purchase them. This step is part of a number of efforts underway, across the administration, to fix the problems in American health care, while preserving what works and what Americans like about the system.” https://nypost.com/2019/07/01/how-team-trump-is-keeping-drug-prices-down/

4) FDIC chair promotes small-bank deregulation: “Witt brought up a number of ideas to improve the business climate for small banks in a conversation on stage with the final keynote speaker Tuesday: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Jelena McWilliams. As leader at the FDIC, the primary regulatory body for many U.S. banks, McWilliams said there’s more the government can do to help banks struggling in the post-Great Recession financial services market. ‘On the regulatory side, we have put so many protections in place to make sure that what happened last time doesn’t happen again, that we have made certain deposit services prohibitively expensive,’ McWilliams said. ‘I remember talking to bankers who say they make no money on mortgage servicing. In fact, they lose money.’” https://finance-commerce.com/2019/06/fdic-chair-promotes-small-bank-deregulation/

5) Trump Signs Bipartisan IRS Reform Bill: “President Trump on Monday signed into law a bipartisan bill to make improvements to the IRS that does not include a controversial provision that would have codified the Free File program for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he signed the bill, known as the Taxpayer First Act, calling it a ‘tremendous thing for our citizens.’” https://thehill.com/policy/finance/451242-trump-signs-bipartisan-irs-reform-bill

6) Supreme Court Declines to Overturn Doctrine on Regulatory Clarity: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to overturn a doctrine under which courts defer to federal agencies to interpret their own regulations that come across as ambiguous. In a 9-0 ruling, the justices narrowed their interpretation of the doctrine, but allowed it to remain in place. The practice means that courts will typically turn to agencies to define exactly what a rule means, if it’s not immediately clear, in cases challenging those rules.” https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/450428-supreme-court-declines-to-overturn-doctrine-on-regulatory

7) Not All Regulations Are Created Equal: “While there is general agreement that too much regulation can impede economic growth and well-being, how much regulation is too much is subject to more debate…The GW researchers developed a Taxonomy of Regulatory Forms that…can shed new light on the effects of different types of regulations.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/susandudley/2019/07/01/not-all-regulations-are-created-equal/#2f6420bb4d02