The REINS Act, Driverless Cars, and Energy Efficiency

REINS Act

Sen. Jim DeMint’s proposed REINS Act would require congressional approval of major federal agency rules before they become binding.

Vice President Wayne Crews explains how the REINS Act will restore congressional accountability.

“By tolerating the delegation of sweeping lawmaking power to unelected agencies, Congress has severed the power to establish regulatory programs from the responsibility for the results of those programs. If I’m a congressman, I can take credit for the Clean Air Act amendments I voted for, but blame EPA – against whom voters have no recourse – for costs, lost jobs and poor performance.It’s an intolerable situation that REINS could help bring under control.”

Driverless Cars

Google’s new driverless cars have logged about 140,000 miles on public roads.

Policy Analyst Marc Scribner lauds the development of these “robot cars.”

“I find these turn of events incredibly encouraging. America’s surface transportation technology has seen no significant improvements in 50 years (in the case of rail transit, make that 120). Sure, cars have all sorts of new technologies, from mp3 players to automatic parallel parking features. But the roads? No real breakthroughs since the Interstate system was devised.”

Energy Efficiency

Just weeks after taking office, Obama urged the Department of Energy to mandate new energy efficiency standards for household appliances.

Associate Fellow Ben Lieberman explains how new appliance standards will affect average American households.

“Think remodeling a kitchen is expensive now? Pending regulations target refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, ovens and ranges. For refrigerators (at least), this is a clear case of overkill. The American fridge has already been hit by several rounds of tighter standards, with each new rule saving less energy than the last — but boosting the price and compromising performance and reliability. Even the Energy Department admits that most consumers will lose money on its latest refrigerator regulation.”