To: Members of the House Committee on the Judiciary
From: Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Bryan Riley, Director, Free Trade Initiative, National Taxpayers Union
Re: NTU’s Views on April 30, 2025 Committee Markup
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to express our views on measures under NTU’s areas of policy expertise that are slated for consideration before the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 30, 2025. NTU particularly appreciates the Committee’s legislative proposals (“Committee Print”) dealing with federal regulations.
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Subtitle B—Regulatory Matters. Subtitle B proposes several measures to enhance oversight of federal regulatory actions and guard against the enactment of disproportionate or excessive rules where regulatory costs far exceed their estimated benefits. For example, the proposed law would require, before a rule can take effect, the federal agency promulgating it to submit to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General a report containing an estimate of its budgetary impact, direct and indirect costs, employment impacts, impact on inflation, accompanying data and economic analyses, and documentation of the constitutional authority for the rule. If implemented properly, such requirements can go a long way toward helping federal agencies more accurately consider the economic impact of potential regulations and adopt a more evidence-based, responsible regulatory approach.
The Committee Print additionally specifies that major rules that increase revenue—including rules with an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more—shall not take effect unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval. If a joint resolution of approval is not enacted into law by the end of 60 session days or legislative days, the rule shall not take effect. These provisions are designed to prevent the imposition of costly regulations that fail to receive approval from Congress.
The Committee Print further directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study quantifying the number of rules currently in effect, along with an estimate of their total economic costs. The findings of such a study could provide Congress with an empirical basis for evaluating the cumulative regulatory burden and informing future regulatory reform.
Taken as a whole, the provisions in Subtitle B would encourage a more proportionate, evidence-based, and taxpayer-friendly approach to regulation, discouraging the promulgation of rules whose regulatory costs far exceed their potential benefit. NTU supports the regulatory reforms proposed in Subtitle B.
Sec. 70300—Consolidating antitrust enforcement. The legislation would consolidate the federal government’s antitrust authority under the Department of Justice, thus removing the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust authority. This approach reflects the same priorities as the One Agency Act, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA), which NTU has long supported.
As NTU previously wrote:
Senator Lee’s One Agency Act (S. 633) would help better utilize taxpayer dollars by removing the jurisdictional dogfighting and even contradictory opinions that result from this nonsensical structure. Until measures are taken to delineate the roles of the FTC and DOJ, increasing federal funding would not be a good use of taxpayer dollars.
Sec. 70301—Limitation on donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party. This provision seeks to end the use of judicial settlements in civil cases to direct payments to third-party entities. Instead, settlement proceeds would be directed to identifiable victims instead of third-party organizations without congressional supervision, thereby strengthening accountability and ensuring that such funds serve their intended remedial purpose. NTU has previously endorsed similar legislation to prevent settlements from being used as “slush funds.” NTU supports Sec. 70301.
NTU appreciates the Committee’s consideration of our views on these important issues, and we stand ready to work with you on ways to protect taxpayers by limiting governmental costs. Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Bryan Riley at briley@ntu.org or Brandon Arnold at barnold@ntu.org.