U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced a bill this week to reduce excessive unfunded government mandates on businesses.
The Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act would prevent Congress and federal regulators from imposing major economic mandates on the private sector as well as state and local governments without weighing the costs and benefits. Portman said it will give business owners greater freedom to invest in their companies and hire new workers.
“At a time when too many Americans are still looking for work, Washington should be pursuing policies that make it easier to hire, not harder,” Portman said. “When the federal government imposes unnecessary and burdensome regulations it undermines employers’ ability to hire more workers, and makes it harder for Ohio workers to find jobs. This legislation will help employers create more jobs and compete globally rather than be held back by stifling government mandates.”
The bill would strengthen the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), which Portman authored in the 104th Congress.
Specifically, the Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act would require agencies to assess the potential effects of new regulation on job creation or job loss, consider market-based and non-government alternatives to regulation, and require agencies to choose the least burdensome regulatory option that achieves the policy goal set out by Congress. It would also extend UMRA to independent agencies; and permit courts to review an agency’s economic impact analysis under UMRA.