Ask Your Representative to Oppose H.R. 674: the “One In, One Out Act.”

The “One In, One Out Act” is a bill that has been introduced by Republican legislators in the last several congresses. It is a variation on an idea that was the subject of a recent executive order by President Trump. It requires federal agencies to revise or rescind one regulation for every new one that they institute. Like President Trump’s executive order, it takes a capricious and potentially damaging approach to the issue of over-regulation. Please contact your member of the House of Representatives and tell them to oppose this bill.

Hello Representative [name]. My name is [name] and I am one of your constituents in [place], [zip]. My phone number is [phone], but I don’t need a call back.

I am calling you today to ask you to oppose H.R. 674, the “One In, One Out Act.” The “One In, One Out Act” would require federal agencies to eliminate or revise one regulation for every new regulation they issue. As with President Trump’s recent, similar executive order, this seems like a way of taking a hatchet to a problem that requires a scalpel. It is true, sometimes, that regulations are expansive and burdensome. But the solution to that is funding for federal agencies to study their existing rules and make evidence-based revisions, not to require an arbitrary and destabilizing elimination of rules.

So please, oppose H.R. 674. It may be that we need regulation reform. But this is not the right approach.