WASHINGTON, D.C. — This bill ain’t no H.R. Pufnstuf.
H.R. 5982, officially called the “Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2016,” has pretty much ended FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler‘s not-so-Cinderella-like run as head of the regulatory body.
In a recorded vote, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill by a 240 – 179 vote.
What does the legislation do?
Simply put: It prevents the FCC, FTC and other regulatory bodies from pushing through any 11th-hour legislation by allowing Congress to intervene.
RBR + TVBR OBSERVATION (Full text below, for subscribers): Rep. Darrell Issa has engaged in a highly partisan move to squelch last-minute moves that may prove “controversial” — a.k.a. in opposition to the newly empowered Republican leadership in Washington. We actually welcome Issa’s bill. But he has some problems at home regarding his reelection, and we only hope he’s not being a hypocrite back in California.
In Capitol Hill lexicon, Congress would have the power “to consider a joint resolution to disapprove multiple regulations that federal agencies have submitted for congressional review within the last 60 legislative days of a session of Congress during the final year of a President’s term.”
No lame duck moves here, folks.
Furthermore, “Congress may disapprove a group of such regulations together (i.e., “en bloc”) instead of the current procedure of considering only one regulation at a time.”
The author of the bill, which now moves to the U.S. Senate, is Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, of California.
Issa introduced the bill in the house on Sept. 9 — likely under much-different circumstances, given the popular voter polls and state of the U.S. presidential election visibility reports.
The bill has eight co-sponsors: Seven are Republicans including Pete Sessions, of Texas, and one Democrat — Minnesota’s Collin Peterson.
The Senate will take on new business Nov. 28, following the Thanksgiving holiday.
