Anti-Government Senator Introduces REINS Act

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act yesterday in the Senate. The bill, which would require Congressional approval of all major regulations, has already been introduced in the House and is expected to be a top priority for House leadership.

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House Republicans’ Rule Inventory is Misguided

House Republicans are willing to take on a pretty big chore in their quest to demonize regulations. The House Rules Committee will consider on Tuesday a resolution that would require most of the major House committees to review and evaluate all regulations written under the laws in their respective jurisdictions.

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Obama Administration Reduces Contract Spending

'Everyone, chill.  I got this.'

Robert Brodsky over at Government Executive brings news that the federal government, for the first time in 13 years, spent less on the procurement of private sector goods and services than it did the previous year. Dropping $15 billion below the fiscal year (FY) 2009 levels of $550 billion, the Obama administration says it is on target to meet the president's goal of reducing contract spending seven percent through FY 2011.

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Why Baselines Matter

If you were diligently reading the news yesterday about the new House budget proposal, you might have been a little confused. It seemed like news outlets couldn’t agree on how much the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan for the FY 2011 budget actually cut:

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House GOP Learns Cutting Spending is Hard

Remember back in September of last year, when the House Republicans released the “Pledge to America,” stating their agenda should they win the House in coming election? If not, here was one line which stuck out to us: “we will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone....” Now that they are in control of the House, Republicans are quickly working to make good on that promise. Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released their new spending plan for fiscal year 2011, which contains cuts of... $35 billion. Looks like it isn’t quite as easy to cut spending as the new House majority thought.

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The REINS Act -- What a Mess

Continuing our look at how H.R. 10, the REINS Act, would screw up the regulatory process by subjecting all major rules to a vote in Congress before they become effective, we will today look at an example that shows how REINS could cause great uncertainty for businesses (and everyone else).

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Building the Next Generation of Open Government Tools

When the Defense Department began funding research on computer networks in the 1960s and '70s, there was little inkling that it might revolutionize government transparency. Yet today, Internet technologies descended from that research are at the heart of open government efforts.

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