WASHINGTON (AP) -- President
Donald Trump signed a handful of measures Monday rolling back Obama-era
regulations under the Congressional Review Act.
It's part of a larger GOP effort to eliminate an
array of regulations issued during President Barack Obama's final months
in office and comes days after Trump's effort to repeal and replace
"Obamacare" failed. Trump has made overturning what he deems government
over-reach a centerpiece of his first months in office.
"I will keep working with Congress, with every
agency, and most importantly, the American people, until we eliminate
every unnecessary, harmful and job-killing regulation that we can find,"
Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. "We have a lot more
coming."
Two of the regulations nullified Monday had to do with school performance and teacher preparation programs.
One, issued by the Education Department in October,
required that federally funded teacher preparation programs be evaluated
based on the academic outcomes of those teachers' students. Republican
senators opposed the rules, arguing such matters should be left to the
states.
The other aimed to help states identify failing schools and come up with plans to improve them.
Another rule nullified by Trump required federal land
managers to consider climate change and other long-term effects of
proposed development on public lands. The regulation had been imposed by
the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees more than 245 million
acres of public lands.
Republicans argued the rule, finalized in December,
shifted decision-making authority away from state and local officials to
the federal government. The signing came the day before Trump was
expected to reverse Obama's signature effort to address climate change,
the Clean Power Plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at
coal-fired power plants.
The final rule targeted by Republicans had been aimed
at forcing government contractors to disclose violations of federal
labor laws as they sought more work. The "blacklisting rule" required
contractors to disclose violations of 14 federal labor laws, including
those pertaining to workplace safety, wages and discrimination.
The White House argued the rule would "bog down" the
federal procurement process, while business groups said that it would
increase compliance costs.
Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration
have made curbing government regulation a top priority this year. Dozens
of resolutions pulling back various Obama-era rules have been
introduced under an expedited process established through the
Congressional Review Act. Under that process, a regulation is
invalidated when a simple majority of both chambers pass a joint
resolution of disapproval and the president signs it.
Source: yahoo
