Posted by Jess McCluer on January 23, 2015

The House of Representatives recently passed the Regulatory Accountability Act  (H.R. 185) by a vote of 250-175 with bi-partisan support.

Before passage, NGFA was one of more than 60 organizations that signed a letter to the House urging legislators to pass the bill to "modernize the 69-year old Administrative Procedure Act and improve how federal agencies write the regulations that most significantly affect the U.S. economy. "

The multi-industry letter was essential during the floor debate, as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., referenced the letter to illustrate the legislation's broad support. Chairman Goodlatte even started reading some of the groups that signed on until, after naming many, he paused and said, "We haven't even gotten all the way through the A's in this list."

The new bill, introduced by Reps. Goodlatte, former chairman of the Agriculture Committee and current chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Collin Peterson, D, Minn., former chairman and current ranking member of the Agriculture Committee would require agencies to look for cheaper, simpler alternatives to proposed rules, provide evidence that proposed rules are actually needed, and allow the public to petition for hearings on major rules (those costing industry more than $100 million to comply). The hearings would be automatic unless the agency can show cause why the hearing petition should be denied.
Jess McCluer

Director of Safety and Regulatory Affairs Jess McCluer manages NGFA's wide-ranging operational programs concerning employee safety and industrial health, environmental issues, grain-handling facility design and equipment, and grain inspection and weighing issues. He is principal staff liaison to the Safety, Health and Environmental Quality Committee, Grain Grades and Weights Committee, Biotechnology Committee, and Agroterrorism and Facility Security Committee.

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