Sen. Paul Updates: Bipartisan REPUBLIC Act To Rein in Pres Emergency Powers, Six Penny Plan To Tackle Spending, REINS Act To Put Power Back In People’s Hands, FDA Modernization Act To Force FDA To Act

Editor’s note: We’ve previously covered Senator Paul’s statement that the FDA should follow the evidence when making rules about MDMA for PTSD. He also stated that the Selective Service wastes taxpayer money and should be abolished.  

HSGAC Passes Dr. Rand Paul’s Bipartisan REPUBLIC Act to Rein in Presidential Emergency Powers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), which U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is Ranking Member of, passed the bipartisan Reforming Emergency Powers to Uphold the Balances and Limitations Inherent in the Constitution (REPUBLIC) Act. The legislation, which was introduced in May, would allow the President to take immediate action in crisis situations, but also require congressional review of presidential invocation of emergency powers that threaten the constitutional principles of separation of powers and due process.

“The REPUBLIC Act reins in the blank check of power presidents write themselves in the name of self-declared emergencies,” said Dr. Paul. “It does all this while preserving the president’s authority to act immediately to defend our nation in a real emergency.”

Current law, under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, authorizes the President to unilaterally determine when and how to unlock and exercise extraordinary powers not permitted during normal operations. Once declared, emergencies are rarely terminated. To wit, the 1979 national emergency relating to the Iranian hostage crisis is still in effect.

Some powers are so inimical to the concept of a constitutional republic they should have never been granted in the first place. One such emergency power pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 gives the President nearly unchallenged authority to restrict access to the internet, conduct email surveillance, and control computer systems, television and radio broadcasts, and cell phones. Additionally, the executive branch issues secret Presidential Emergency Action Documents, which, among other things, have in the past authorized the detention of “dangerous persons” within the United States and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during emergency situations.

The REPUBLIC Act would:

• Allow the President to exercise emergency powers for 30 days prior to congressional approval.
• Prohibit the President from issuing a subsequent declaration and exercising emergency powers with respect to the same circumstances if a national emergency is not approved or renewed.
• Provide expedited procedures in each House of Congress to consider joint resolutions of approval.
• Terminate the ability of the President to seize control of U.S. communications infrastructure pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934.
• Prohibit the use of IEEPA to sanction U.S. persons without due process.
• Require the disclosure of Presidential Emergency Action Documents to Congress.

You can read the REPUBLIC Act HERE and watch Dr. Paul’s remarks on the bill HERE.

Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced his “Six Penny Plan” federal budget that will balance the budget within five years.

“Seven years ago, we could balance our budget with a freeze in spending without cutting anything. Since then, our national debt has skyrocketed to over $35 trillion, with $6.6 trillion just in the past four years. Americans across the nation are struggling to make ends meet while their government recklessly spends and fuels the inflation crisis,” said Dr. Paul.

“The greatest threat to our national security is our national debt, and we are now in a situation that a simple penny, two, three, or even a five pennies per-dollar reduction is insufficient to balance our budget. It requires six. We cannot keep ignoring this problem at the expense of taxpayers, and my budget will put our nation on track to solve this crisis that Congress created.”

Background:

The Six Penny Plan is a federal budget resolution that will balance on-budget outlays and revenues within five years by cutting six pennies off every dollar projected to be spent in the next five fiscal years. This plan is the most recent in a series of plans that Dr. Paul has introduced to address an ever-worsening budget crisis:

• In the 100 days between CBO’s February and June budget baselines, the federal government added an additional $540 billion to the national debt (an additional $1,600 per U.S. citizen).
• CBO’s June estimates increased projected deficits by $2.5 trillion over CBO’s February estimates.
• Interest payments on the debt account for more spending than our entire defense budget.
• At over $35 trillion, the national debt is nearly double the amount of total bank deposits in the U.S. In other words, emptying every bank account in the U.S. would only cover half of the government’s debt.

In 2017, Dr. Paul introduced a budget that would have only required a spending freeze to balance in five years. An annual six percent cut is now required to achieve the same results. Dr. Paul’s Six Penny Plan implements these cuts while preserving congressional discretion regarding how to achieve these spending targets. This plan would:

• Reduce spending by $329 billion in the first year. The plan would continue to cut six percent until balance in year five, then allows spending to rise with the pace of revenues in the five years remaining.
• Make no specific policy assumptions. All savings are reflected in the newly defined budget function 930: New Efficiencies, Consolidations, and Other Savings. The budget sets a goal of balance, and then calls on Congress to make the changes needed to achieve this objective.
• Assume the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is made permanent (originally set to expire in 2027). Since CBO originally assumed this would expire and federal revenues would increase, this plan accounts for the decrease in projected revenues if TCJA were to be made permanent.

You can read the Six Penny Plan HERE.

Dr. Paul’s Six Penny Plan has wide support:

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“For decades, the government has spent beyond its means and expected hardworking taxpayers to foot the bill. This reckless spending in Washington has delivered nothing but record inflation, leaving the American people unable to make ends meet. It’s past time for Congress to make the hard decisions required to put our financial house back in order. Heritage Action thanks Sen. Paul for his consistent support for fiscal responsibility, and backs his ‘Six Penny Plan’ to balance the budget,” said Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President of Heritage Action.

“The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste supports Sen. Paul’s amendment to cap spending for five years and achieve a balanced budget. His proposal to cut spending by 6 percent annually should be supported by every senator who believes in fiscal responsibility and getting the nation back on the right track,” said Tom Schatz, President of Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.

“Senator Paul has been a true pioneer in new concepts for fiscal responsibility, with his first introduction of a Penny Plan to balance the budget back in 2017. At the time, achieving eventual balance would have only required cutting 1 cent per dollar of federal spending. However, due to continued reckless policies, a Six Penny Plan, requiring annual 6 percent savings to tackle deficits, is now necessary. Senator Paul’s legislation also locks in the pro-growth Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preventing tax hikes on top of inflation. Also important, the Six Penny Plan wisely proposes scorekeeping reforms to identify duplicate programs in new proposals and strengthened budget enforcement in the Senate. Taxpayers can only hope that Congress acts swiftly on the Six Penny Plan, so Senator Paul won’t need to introduce a Dime Plan or, worse, a Quarter Plan,” said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research, National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

“Senator Rand Paul has been fighting for fiscal responsibility and raising the alarm on federal spending with his Penny Plan since 2017. Had Congress listened to Sen. Paul and passed his plan, the country would have a balanced budget today. Instead, Congress continues to exacerbate inflationary pressures with unprecedented and obscene spending levels. As President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, I thank Senator Rand Paul for this commonsense and much-needed solution to balance the budget and protect taxpayers,” said David Williams, President of Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

“Citizens for Renewing America supports Senator Rand Paul’s Six Penny Plan, which offers a real solution to years of reckless spending policies. As Congress continues to avoid addressing the root causes of our growing national debt, Senator Paul’s plan forces genuine cuts to the woke and weaponized federal bureaucracy. This legislation is critical to restoring the fiscal sanity that Washington has sorely lacked and provides the necessary course correction to years of flawed policies that have failed to reduce our national debt or deficits,” said Wade Miller, Executive Director of Citizens for Renewing America.

“Unfortunately, the Biden Administration continues to advocate for inflationary spending plans that would add to the crushing tax burden faced by hardworking Americans. As we face the real threat of stagflation for the first time since the 1970s, we need a major course correction from policymakers in Washington. Senator Rand Paul should be commended for his bold approach to address our $35 trillion national debt, while avoiding economically damaging tax increases. Sen. Paul’s common sense spending reforms put our hardworking taxpayers first by addressing the root cause of our national debt: overspending,” said Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy.

“Unsustainable federal spending is driving the bloated national debt and contributes to economic weakness and elevated inflation, so I applaud Senator Paul’s Six Penny Plan to get control of the spending crisis,” said Vance Ginn, Ph.D, President of Ginn Economic Consulting and former Chief Economist of Trump White House OMB.

“Senator Rand Paul has long been a champion of balancing the federal budget and protecting the American taxpayer. Senator Paul has a plan that will balance the budget in five years. Interestingly, if Congress had voted for Senator Paul’s plan five years ago, we would not be suffering runaway inflation, economic downturns, slowdowns, severe shortages, and empty shelves at the store. And we’d be celebrating a balanced budget too! And balancing the budget has national security benefits as well. If we wait even longer to take action, we will suffer more inflation, larger and larger deficits, and more economic instability, and our national security will slide downhill as well. And then it will take much larger cuts to get things back on track. So now is the time to act before the problem becomes so large that it cannot practically be fixed,” said George Landrith, President of Frontiers for Freedom.

“Senator Rand Paul is one of the few Senators who are serious about the fiscal challenges facing America. Quite simply, the current rate of government spending is unsustainable with interest payments on the debt for the first ten months of fiscal year 2024 reaching a staggering $763 billion fully $202 billion more than the same period the previous year. Net interest payments on the debt surpass every other spending category other than Social Security. It is astonishing that the fiscal apocalypse that we have worried about for decades is now upon us with even defense spending dwarfed by the cost of simply making interest payments on our $35 trillion national debt. Senator Paul’s Six Penny Plan forces an honest discussion about the crisis our nation faces and some of the tough decisions which will be required to reverse course from the almost $2 Trillion in debt our country adds onto the ledger every single year. Higher interest rate payments on more of the debt combined with the spending spree which has raised the debt from $26.9 Trillion on September 30, 2020 to more than $35 Trillion. America is in trouble, and Senator Paul is one of the few members of Congress willing to propose solutions,” said Richard Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government Foundation

Dr. Rand Paul and Rep. Kat Cammack Introduce REINS Act to Put Power Back in the People’s Hands

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) introduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act to help put power back in the people’s hands instead of the administrative state.

“The whims of an unaccountable administrative state should never rule our lives. For too long, an ever-growing federal bureaucracy has piled regulations and red tape on the backs of the American people without any approval by Americans’ elected representatives. The recent Supreme Court decision to dismantle Chevron deference stripped away some of the power it wrongly gave to unelected bureaucrats years ago, but there’s still work to do. By making Congress more accountable for the most costly and intrusive federal rules, our REINS Act would give Kentuckians and all Americans a greater voice in determining whether these major rules are truly in America’s best interests,” said Dr. Paul.

“Nameless, faceless, unelected bureaucrats in Washington have had too much power over the American people for far too long. The federal bureaucracy’s rapid growth over the last several decades has resulted in serious damage to the livelihoods of millions of Americans with reckless rulemaking not approved by the body granted Article I authority,” said Rep. Kat Cammack. “The REINS Act is a critical step toward ‘reining’ in this unchecked power and restoring the lawmaking authority to Congress instead of the executive branch. With SCOTUS’ Loper Bright decision earlier this year, we’ve made solid progress in dismantling Chevron, and I’m encouraged for the future of REINS, and what it will mean in stopping executive overreach. I thank Senator Paul for his partnership in the Senate, and look forward to earning my colleagues’ support for this legislation in the House.”

Cosponsors in the Senate include U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Rick Scott (R-FL).

“The American people deserve a voice against unelected bureaucrats mandating burdensome regulations. The REINS Act will ensure major rule changes that could hurt consumers are first put before the people’s elected officials for approval. This legislation will give power back to the people and limit bureaucratic red tape,” said Sen. Blackburn.

“The last thing Montanans want to see is big government overreach and more heavy-handed mandates from Washington. It’s time we give the American people through their elected leaders the power to hold DC bureaucrats accountable,” said Sen. Daines.

“James Madison said, ‘It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood …’ We are now in this circumstance where, not only are our laws so voluminous and complex that we can’t read them, but they’re not even written by men and women of our own choosing. This kind of unreviewable legislative discretion has historically been reserved for despots and tyrants. This is tyranny, and we’re going to handle it with the REINS Act,” said Sen. Lee.

“American entrepreneurs and businesses know all too well how bureaucratic regulation can lead to job-destroying uncertainty. By returning lawmaking power to the people’s elected representatives in Congress, the REINS Act is an important measure that will bring greater transparency and accountability to a regulatory system that undermines private sector job creation,” said Sen. Rubio.

“The Supreme Court’s repudiation of the Chevron deference doctrine in Loper Bright is not the end of the battle against the bureaucracy’s unchecked control, but only the beginning. I am proud to co-sponsor Senator Paul’s REINS Act in our efforts to restore power in the Article 1 branch, the people’s branch, and away from these nameless, unaccountable bureaucrats who have governed by fiat for too long. The American people deserve a government that is responsive and accountable to them. That is how the Founders always intended for our government to function when they established this great nation,” said Sen. Schmitt. 

“After nearly four years of the Biden-Harris administration’s gross expansion of the bureaucracy of the federal government and forcing more burdensome regulations on hardworking families, it is time to cut the red tape and Make Washington Work for the American people. I am proud to stand with Senator Rand Paul to hold Washington accountable, get big government out of the way, and put some fiscal sense back into Congress,” said Sen. Rick Scott. 

The REINS Act also has wide support:

“Four years of unprecedented executive branch spending and a record-setting stream of new rules from unelected bureaucrats in Washington have caused the price of everything to go up at the same time the value of every dollar has gone down. American families are left paying more for less in a broken economy that was roaring just a few short years ago,” said Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability. “The REINS Act would empower Congress to free working families from the suffocating weight of the Biden-Harris bureaucracy, and cure the cost-of-living crisis dimming the American Dream. The REINS Act cuts to the core of the fundamental question facing our nation at this critical moment in history: Do we want our future determined by unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., or the elected representatives closest to the people?”

“For years, the executive branch has grown its power and subverted the will of the people by imposing expensive rules and regulations that should require the consent of Congress. No administration should have the authority to place sweeping regulations on every facet of Americans’ daily lives without giving them the chance to weigh in through their elected representatives, and fight back when the executive branch skirts the law. Sen. Paul’s updated REINS Act will help restore the legal rights of Americans and the balance of power laid out in the Constitution,” said Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President of Heritage Action. 

“For too long, bureaucrats in the administrative state have imposed trillions of dollars in regulatory costs onto American citizens and businesses as they embark on their personal crusades – all without needing the support of a single member of the legislative branch. Now that the Supreme Court has overturned the Chevron Doctrine, leaders on Capitol Hill must pass the REINs Act to return Article 1 lawmaking authority to its rightful home in Congress and end the delegation of power to unelected regulators,” said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh. “We applaud Sen. Rand Paul for his work to introduce and champion this bill in the Senate. Every member of Congress should support this commonsense plan to create a more representative approach to how the Federal Government imposes the hidden tax of regulation,” said David McIntosh, President of Club For Growth.

“Senator Paul’s updated version of the REINS Act is an essential government reform bill that would strengthen congressional oversight, put a brake on administrative state power, and reinstate accountability in the rulemaking process. Building upon all the good the preexisting REINS Act would do, Senator Paul’s updated REINS Act includes a number of new provisions that would further empower Congress to check big government. Importantly, the bill would require that guidance documents and other forms of “regulatory dark matter” be subject to congressional approval. The bill would also address the concern that rules and guidance documents are not properly submitted to Congress or the Government Accountability Office. Together, these provisions would help give greater scrutiny to the regulatory process – a move especially important now since the Biden administration has dismantled President Trump’s guidance portals and rewrote the rules of rulemaking with their Modernizing Regulatory Review directive (Executive Order 14,094). These updates are vitally important as the Supreme Court’s recent rejection of the Chevron Doctrine still leaves progressives with many tools in their toolbox to work around Congress and pursue their regulatory pursuits. Ultimately, Senator Paul’s updated REINS Act is a vital step in restoring accountability to the administrative state and in ensuring that the American people are governed by their duly elected representatives, rather than by unaccountable bureaucrats,” said Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. and Fred L. Smith Jr., Fellows in Regulatory Studies at Competitive Enterprise Institute.

“Regulatory agencies seem to think they can make any rules they want. The REINS Act was already an important reminder that Congress has lawmaking powers, and executive agencies do not. The new version’s expanded protections make REINS even more urgent to pass,” said Ryan Young, Senior Economist at Competitive Enterprise Institute.

“Federal regulation is out of control.  It’s time for Congress to REINS it in,” said James Carter, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Treasury (2002-06), America First Policy Institute.

“The REINS Act is desperately needed.  We hear a lot about defending democracy today, but we don’t see much real effort from the administrative state to honor the principles of democracy. Senator Paul’s updated REINS Act will make sure that the people’s representatives in Congress will have to approve of any major rules proposed by an unelected administrative agency. If the economic impact of a rule is $100 million or more, it must have congressional approval. This guarantees that we the people have a voice in the regulatory state that has the impact of being law. It would also guarantee individuals the right to use as an affirmative defense that the regulation they are accused of violating do not logically follow from the statute. It would also allow citizens to seek judicial relief when an agency fails to seek or obtain congressional approval. Any who opposes the REINS Act is clearly not a fan of democracy, but rather prefers a system of unelected oligarchy,” said George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom Institute.

Background:

Under the REINS Act, once major rules are drafted, they must then be affirmatively approved by both chambers of Congress and then signed by the President, satisfying the bicameralism and presentment requirements of the Constitution. Currently, regulations ultimately take effect unless Congress specifically disapproves.

The bill defines a “major” rule as one that the Office of Management and Budget determines may result in an economic impact of $100 million or greater each year; “a major increase in costs or prices” for American consumers, government agencies, regions, or industries; or “significant adverse effects” on the economy.

The REINS Act also includes the following changes from the original bill which has been introduced every Congress since Dr. Paul has been in office:

• New Defense for Individuals: Individuals can argue that the average person would not have known their actions violated federal law if the statute did not clearly state it.
• Right to Sue: People can sue to stop enforcement if an agency implements a major rule without getting congressional approval.
• LIBERTY Act: Agency guidance with an economic impact of $100 million or more needs congressional approval just like major rules.
• Deregulatory Actions Exempted: Agencies do not need congressional approval to withdraw costly or burdensome rules

You can read the REINS Act HERE.

Along with introducing the REINS Act, Dr. Paul also recently participated in efforts discussing the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright, which overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine.

Dr. Paul also joined Sen. Eric Schmitt in his efforts to retake legislative authority away from administrative agencies and place it back where it belongs: the Article I branch. These efforts include the filing of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA), the launching of a working group of Senators that will regularly meet to discuss furthering this goal, and letters to 101 agencies that have published more than 50 final rules since 2000 demanding answers on how current regulatory processes will be handled following the Loper Bright decision.

 Dr. Paul and Sen. Booker Introduce FDA Modernization Act 3.0

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Braun (R-IN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, a bipartisan bill to direct the FDA to finally implement the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 (FDAMA 2.0), legislation passed by Congress to modernize drug testing protocols and improve patient outcomes.

In 2022, FDAMA 2.0 was signed into law by President Biden. This law removed the longstanding requirement under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) that investigational new drugs (INDs) undergo mandatory animal testing before human clinical trials. Instead, the law allowed drug developers to use advanced, non-animal methods such as cell-based assays, organ chips, computer modeling, and bioprinting.

Despite the passage of nearly two years since FDAMA 2.0 was enacted into law, the FDA has yet to update its regulations to conform with the law, leaving numerous FDA regulations that continue to call for animal testing. The FDA Modernization Act 3.0 seeks to resolve this by mandating the FDA to update its regulations within six months of the bill’s enactment. It also includes a technical correction to the statute by addressing a duplicated section heading.

“In 2022 I was proud to lead the charge on the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, which was a critical step in reforming our drug approval process—getting life-saving treatments to patients faster, cutting costs, and embracing non-animal testing methods. Now, with FDA Modernization Act 3.0, it’s time to build on that success and ensure reforms can proceed expeditiously. Swift passage of this legislation will continue breaking down unnecessary barriers, so Americans can access safe, effective drugs without delays and at reduced costs,” said Dr. Rand Paul.

“The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was a landmark achievement for both animals and public health, paving the way for 21st century human-relevant science,” said Sen. Booker. “It’s time our country takes full advantage of technologies that can more accurately predict human responses and accelerate our nation’s drug development. This bipartisan legislation will ensure the FDA finally aligns its regulations with the law.”

“The FDA has been delinquent in not implementing the law that Senator Booker shepherded to passage two years ago to eliminate an archaic animal-testing mandate for screening of new drugs,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “The use of human-relevant models must be put to use in our drug development programs to benefit patients and drug sponsors and to spare beagles, primates, and other animals needless torment.”

The FDA Modernization Act 3.0 is a bipartisan effort to reduce unnecessary animal testing while advancing scientific innovation. By fully implementing FDAMA 2.0, drug development can be both more humane and more efficient, ultimately leading to faster and more reliable treatments for patients. An astonishing 90-95% of drugs that pass animal tests go on to fail in human clinical trials, wasting precious time for patients.

You can read the FDA Modernization Act HERE.

Banner Image: Dogs in cages. Image Credit – Sasha Sashina