CEI Today: Obama nominee being Borked?, new Labor Dept hiring quotas, and a commission on reg reform
Today in the News
OBAMA NOMINEE – BRIAN McNICOLL
Human Events: Binz is not being Borked
Ron Binz, President Obama’s nominee to head the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, still could be confirmed by the Senate. But Binz’ nomination is in trouble today not because of his public work as a member of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission but because he appeared during his confirmation hearing to offer four statements that do match up with the facts.
HIRING QUOTAS – HANS BADER
The Obama Labor Department has just finalized rules that will effectively require businesses that get federal contracts to adopt a 7 percent hiring quota for the disabled. Much of the American workforce is employed by a federal contractor, since most large companies have federal contracts. So this will affect much of the economy, and impose massive new costs on American business.
REGULATORY REFORM – WAYNE CREWS & RYAN YOUNG
American Spectator: The Regulatory Improvement Commission
No bureaucracy would voluntarily reduce the size and scope of its mission and its budget. Instead, reform must come from outside. One such approach is the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2013, introduced by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Roy Blunt (R-MO). The bill would establish an independent Regulatory Improvement Commission, which would identify rules ripe for repeal and send them to Congress.
The idea goes back at least two decades, and has garnered support from across the political spectrum, from former Senator Phil Gramm (R-TEX) on the right to the Progressive Policy Institute’s Michael Mandel on the left. Here’s how a Regulatory Improvement Commission would work.