First, the bill politicizes the regulatory process by making independent agencies accountable to the executive branch. These agencies are independent for a reason. Congress establishes independent agencies when it determines that a policy area in question—for example, the regulation of the financial sector—must be insulated from the changing tides of electoral politics. This bill, by giving the President the ability to reject any new rules proposed by independent agencies like the SEC, gives the White House the power to prevent or delay any regulations they oppose.

Second, the bill would overwhelm independent agencies with new demands for cost-benefit reports when many of them already have such requirements in place. The bill requires at least 13 new cost-benefit analyses in addition to those already in place, which will put a strain on budgets that are already tight. This has the potential to overburden the independent agencies and OIRA’s ability to review the deluge of new data.

This bill is a subtle attack on the regulatory agenda writ large, which will have the effect of delaying, or preventing altogether, crucial reforms that involve consumer and product safety, financial regulation, oversight over nuclear facilities, and more.

You can learn more about the effects of this bill, and why over 40 public-interest groups are opposed to it, here: http://www.sensiblesafeguards.org/assets  /documents/css-examples-independent-reg ulatory-analysis.pdf