Proposed Regulatory Freeze Advances in US House
A bill that would freeze many regulatory actions advanced in the House Judiciary Committee this week, bringing it one step closer to passage.
The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act of 2012 was first introduced to the House of Representatives on 17 February, and first reported by Regulatory Focus on 27 February. The proposed legislation would prevent many regulatory actions from being passed by federal agencies until unemployment falls below 6%, including:
- any regulatory actions creating inter-agency inconsistencies
- any regulatory actions raising novel legal or policy issues
- any regulatory actions materially altering the budgetary impact of entitlement, grant, user fee programs or loan programs
As Regulatory Focus reported in February, the act's wording makes it likely to apply to proposed user fee legislation affecting the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, Medical Device User Fee Act, Generic Drugs User Fee Act or the Biosimilar and Interchangeable Products User Fee Act.
The bill passed the Judiciary committee on a 15-13 vote after accepting a single amendment from Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR). Rep. Griffin's amendment would further restrict regulatory actions by agencies by applying to proposed rulemaking, notices of inquiry and advanced notices of proposed rulemaking.
While waivers exist within the legislation and are applicable to health-related causes, it is unclear if this would apply to all FDA regulatory actions, including user fee legislation.
Read more:
Final Passage of the Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act
House Judiciary Markup for The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act
Rep. Tim Griffin's Amendment to The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act
Chairman Lamar Smith Statement on The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act
Regulatory Focus - Bill Would Freeze Major Regulatory Actions Until Unemployment Rate Falls