GOP looks to ban federal regulations until unemployment falls to 6 percent – The Hill’s Floor Action

House Republicans have put forward a bill that would prevent federal agencies from issuing any new significant regulation until the national unemployment rate drops to 6 percent.

Under the bill, H.R. 4078, federal agencies could not finalize regulations that cost the economy $100 million or more, or have other significant effects on job creation, until the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national unemployment rate averages 6 percent over any quarter. The president could waive this ban only if he believes a rule is needed for reasons related to national security, to enforce criminal laws or to implement an international trade agreement.

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) sponsored the bill along with 14 other Republicans who have argued that the government needs to reduce the number of rules it puts out in order to give companies a breather from additional compliance mandates while the economy struggles to recover.

At the same time, the bill sets a relatively low target rate for unemployment, in some ways an admission that the nation’s employment picture has continued to improve. The Obama administration in early February said the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January and the economy created 243,000 jobs — far more than economists expected.

via GOP looks to ban federal regulations until unemployment falls to 6 percent – The Hill’s Floor Action.