U.S. House Passes Jason Smith Bill to Scrub Outdated Regulations

Press Release

Today, legislation authored by Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) passed the U.S. House on a bipartisan vote of 245-174. The Smith bill, known as H.R. 1155, the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act would eliminate and remove outdated federal regulations now estimated to impose nearly a $1.86 trillion burden on Americans.

Upon passage, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan commented, "A thorough review of federal regulations holding back opportunity in this country is long overdue. I congratulate Representative Smith on passage of this bill and for serving as a leader on regulatory reform. His work to bring greater accountability to government is of great service to the business owners, farmers and families who are facing a maze of costly and complex Washington regulations. This legislation provides an important check on a lame duck White House intent on pushing through more rules, regulations and executive orders inconsistent with the will of the American people."

After the vote, Representative Smith said the following, "175,268 pages of federal regulations are stifling economic growth and opportunity in this country. The SCRUB Act sets up a process to finally review and get off the books and out of the way many of these outdated, burdensome, duplicative and unnecessary regulations." Smith continued, "The American people have had enough of this White House circumventing Congress to try to push through its failed policy attempts with new regulatory and rule making. A bureaucrat in Washington should not be telling a farmer in the bootheel of Missouri or a small business owner in Poplar Bluff how to run their operation. With the SCRUB Act we place that power back into the hands of the people who are actually affected on a daily basis by the regulations coming out of Washington."

Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz said, "Today's House passage of the SCRUB Act is an important step toward reducing unnecessary regulation. Regulations can be necessary to ensure health and safety. But excessive and outdated regulations only serve to divert limited resources to efforts that waste time and money. This bill provides the opportunity for tremendous savings for government agencies and the public at large. I applaud the good work of Congressman Smith in drafting this legislation."

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