House OKs Plan for Quick Repeal of ‘Dumb’ Rules

WASHINGTON —  Accelerating a bid to roll back federal regulations, the Republican-dominated House on Tuesday established an unprecedented legislative process to help cancel out rules and laws that are “silly, dumb and ludicrous.”

By a vote of 271 to 146, House Republicans, joined by 46 Democrats, created a streamlined mechanism that greatly limits debate and expands the power of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to kill federal regulations.

The action would come on twice-monthly “corrections days,” which leading Democrats warned would force hasty decisions and Republicans said would restore public confidence in government.

“Up until now, there has been no special procedure for handling relatively non-controversial fixes to obviously ridiculous mistakes in the law,” said Rep. Barbara F. Vucanovich (R-Nev.). “With this new corrections days procedure, we can finally show the American people that Congress is working for them, instead of against them.”

Repeal of any regulation would also have to be approved by the Senate and then go to the President for his signature. The Senate currently has no similar procedure for swift repeal of laws and regulations, but Gingrich predicted Tuesday that the upper chamber will “adopt a similar approach” soon.

Under the new House procedure, Vucanovich will lead a bipartisan advisory committee formed to help screen initiatives. The initiatives also would be considered by the appropriate permanent committees, but Republicans and Democrats disagreed over how much power committees would have in the new process.

What is clear is that the Speaker would have the exclusive power to decide whether an item goes on the agenda for a corrections day. Once on the floor, debate would be limited to one hour and the power to make amendments would be limited.

Republicans said the new procedure is intended to help speed actions that have strong bipartisan support, noting that a three-fifths majority is required for approval and that neither party can muster votes of that size without help from across the aisle.

Even so, many Democrats charged that the new process will short-circuit the normal checks and balances that allow the minority party and responsible committees of Congress their say in critical policy matters.

“This is going to sanction the creation of the mother and the father of all closed rules,” said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.).

“To confer on the Speaker the ability to put legislation on the floor, to be considered in one hour, with no meaningful ability to amend . . . this is not something that is going to lead to good legislative practice,” Dingell said.

The requirement for a three-fifths majority is less stringent than current rules governing measures brought to the floor for “suspension,” which is the House procedure most similar to the new corrections process. Two-thirds approval is required when a bill is brought up under suspension, which greatly limits debates and amendments.

The corrections day idea was the brainchild of Gingrich and Republican governors, who last March proposed a mechanism to rid the federal books of rules and regulations that they believe are unduly burdensome or no longer make sense.

The first corrections day could come as early as the second Tuesday of July, Gingrich told reporters.

Among the rules topping the list for repeal is a provision that places costly safety requirements on ships carrying vegetable oil into or out of U.S. waters. The oil, if spilled, poses no threat to the environment or public health.

Backers of the resolution said they have a long list of federal requirements to target on future corrections days. They said they hope to repeal a requirement drafted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requiring four firefighters at the scene of a fire--two inside and two outside a burning building--before any firefighter can begin to battle the blaze.

They also will target a federal rule barring removal of trees surrounding an airport for safety purposes if those trees are in a wetland.

House Republicans said that in addition to allowing the nation to rid itself of needless regulations more easily, the corrections day process would send a chilling message to the 110 federal agencies that promulgate regulations.

“Every bureaucrat inside this Beltway is going to take notice--that’s the real reason for this,” said Rep. Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), a major proponent of the measure. “They’re going to think twice about promulgating rules that go far beyond the intent of Congress.”

Gingrich had hoped to inaugurate the corrections day idea by granting the City of San Diego a waiver from a federal requirement to treat its sewage water to a secondary level before piping it 4 1/2 miles out into the Pacific Ocean.

But the Environmental Protection Agency recently granted San Diego a long-expected waiver, and Gingrich said Tuesday that the agency’s decision probably means that no congressional action is needed.