Congressman Smith's Regulatory Relief Passes U.S. House

Press Release

Today, Congressman Jason Smith's (MO-08) bill, H.R. 998 the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act passed the United States House of Representatives with bipartisan support by a vote of 240-185. During his time in Congress Smith has continually defended the rights of rural America from an ongoing regulatory assault led by unelected federal bureaucrats. Passage of the SCRUB Act and providing regulatory relief for Midwest families, farmers and small business owners has been a leading priority for Rep. Smith since his time in the Missouri General Assembly.

"Just last night I sat in this very chamber and listened to the President talk about how we will work together to put the American worker first", said Smith. "The SCRUB Act does just that. This bill gives a voice to private sector citizens, farmers, families and businesses impacted by Washington regulations. The SCRUB Act will give the President the list of those regulations holding back private sector investment, growth and hiring. It will help shrink the size of government and get it off the backs of our farmers in Missouri so that they can do what they do best - tend to their land and their family."

Smith's SCRUB Act establishes a Commission of folks directly impacted by federal regulations to identify and expedite the removal of regulations deemed duplicate, burdensome, costly or out of date. Further the legislation requires the removal of cost similar regulations before any new ones can be added. The SCRUB Act previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the 114th Congress on a bipartisan vote of 245-147. Independent analysis has found the collective cost of the burdens posed by federal regulations to be close to $2 trillion -- or roughly $15,000 per household.

During his first full week in office, on January 30th President Trump authored an Executive Order known as "Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs" calling for the removal of 2 existing regulations for every new one proposed. On February 24th, President Trump authored an Executive Order known as "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda" to set up Regulatory Reform Task Forces to help identify regulations that amongst other things are inhibiting job creation, outdated, ineffective, unnecessary or inconsistent.

Smith continued, "The days of the Washington regulatory machine are numbered. With President Trump in the Oval Office, bureaucrats will be taking a back seat to the priorities of the American worker. The fate of the SCRUB Act and whether or not to provide regulatory relief to millions of middle class Americans now falls squarely at the feet of Senate Minority Leader Schumer. It is my sincere hope he will end the current streak of obstruction against President Trump. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is now home to a man whose number one priority is job creation and giving those underemployed and unemployed a real shot at achieving their dreams. It is our responsibility to work with the President to support what the American people called for this past November and give him the tools to help grow our economy. The best way out of poverty is a good paying job and the SCRUB Act clears the road of the government blockages which were holding up growth and hiring here at home."

Most recently Rep. Smith led more than 60 of his House of Representatives colleagues in requesting that the Trump White House overturn a "midnight rule' issued by the Obama Administration on its final full day in office which would eliminate the use of led ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands.

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