The U.S. House of Representatives approved the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, H.R. 78, which places statutory requirements on the Securities Exchange Commission rulemaking.
The law, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), would prohibit the SEC from making a rule unless it first conducts a cost/benefit analysis to justify the need for the regulation and assesses possible alternatives. It also calls on the SEC to review existing regulations every five years for effectiveness.
“Whether it is buying a car or choosing a college savings plan, every American family weighs the pros and cons before making major life decisions,” said Wagner. “The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act simply requires that the Commission engages in the same process and can justify that the benefits of a proposed regulation will outweigh its costs.”
“Something our regulators should already be doing, this commonsense legislation will help drain the swamp that Washington bureaucrats have built over the past eight years, while better protecting American families from top-down, one-size-fits-all regulations that cost nearly $15,000 for every household,” she added.
The bill passed in the House by a count of 243-184. It now goes to the Senate for approval.
“Ill-advised laws like the Dodd-Frank Act empower unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to callously hand down crushing regulations without adequately considering what impact those regulations have on jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the Financial Services Committee. “The true cost of Washington red tape includes the jobs not created, the small businesses not started and the dreams of our children not fulfilled.”