Regulatory Action Center Review – July 16, 2020

Welcome to the new and improved Regulatory Action Center (RAC) Review! RAC proudly keeps you up to date on what we’re up to and what we’re keeping our eyes on here in the swamp. We offer resources for you to get involved in the rulemaking process to hold unelected bureaucrats accountable and occasionally offer praise in the event they have a good impulse. We will also highlight the incredible work our activists have done to advance the principles of smaller government, lower taxes, free markets, personal liberty, and the rule of law. For more ways to get involved and stay informed, check the links at the bottom of this post.

**RACtivists by the Numbers**

This year, RACtivists submitted over 5,600 comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in support of their proposed changes to the school lunch program. These comments accounted for over one-eighth of all the comments submitted from across the entire nation.

![RACGraphic_Lunch][RACGraphic_Lunch]

**RACtivist Content of the Week**

Comment submitted by RACtivist Kathryn K from New York to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding their asylum reform proposal:

*In concern for our country and its citizens, I believe the conservative asylum reforms proposed by President Trump are prudent and effective to be implemented.*

*Our country has been bombarded by many, not all, immigrants who use the asylum rule to enter our country illegally. The courts are overwhelmed and justice to those apply with a real need and to our citizens, is not being done. President Trump is trying to make it a better system that cannot be abused or used by immigrants who have not applied for asylum under the correct circumstances.*

*These reforms will help those who have applied correctly and will also help keep out those who seek to harm America.*

*Please support these Asylum reforms now.*

**Four Things to Know**

**1) [Trump Overhauls Key Environmental Law](https://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891190100/trump-overhauls-key-environmental-law-to-speed-up-pipelines-and-other-projects)**

The Trump administration announced the finalization of a rule to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is the finished product of a proposal announced in the first quarter of the year by the Department of the Interior. These reforms to NEPA will significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to get authorization to build a highway or a pipeline. Back in March, 672 RACtivists submitted comments to Interior in support of these changes.

*More information about this rule change:*

FreedomWorks blog post on original proposal: **[HERE](https://www.freedomworks.org/content/new-nepa-proposal-clears-way-infrastructure-development)**

Administration Press Release: **[HERE](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200120-Final-NPRM-Press-Release.pdf)**

**2) [CFPB Finalizes Payday Lending Rule Change](https://www.forbes.com/sites/norbertmichel/2020/07/08/consumers-win-as-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-finalizes-payday-loan-rule/#5b55d1c44903)**

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently finalized an elimination of a regulation that would have barred short term, high interest loans. These “payday” loans are, in many cases, necessary for struggling families to get access to credit on short notice. This is a victory for consumers, lenders, and the free market. In May of 2019, RAC submitted comments to the CFPB in support of this rule change.

*More information about this rule change:*

FreedomWorks Foundation’s formal comments: **[HERE](https://fw-d7-freedomworks-org.s3.amazonaws.com/FWF_Comments_PayDay_HighCost_Installment_Loans_CFPB20190006%20%285%29.pdf)**

CFPB Statement: **[HERE](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-issues-final-rule-small-dollar-lending/)**

**3) [FDA Approves IQOS as Modified Risk Tobacco Product](https://www.dfnionline.com/latest-news/milestone-decision-fda-approves-iqos-modified-risk-tobacco-product-14-07-2020/)**

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the marketing of IQOS, a vapor product offering smokers an alternative to traditional cigarettes. This move marks a milestone abandonment of the “quit or die” approach that the federal government has counterintuitively taken for years.

*More information about this decision:*

FreedomWorks Statement: **[HERE](https://www.freedomworks.org/content/freedomworks-foundation-statement-response-fda-approving-marketing-iqos-modified-risk)**

FDA Release: **[HERE](https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-iqos-tobacco-heating-system-reduced-exposure-information)**

**4) [Assessing Trump Deregulatory Agenda Before the Election](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/trumps-2-for-1-regulatory-order-squeezed-by-election-priorities)**

While the Trump administration continues to roll back regulations at a rate never before seen, the “low hanging fruit” of the Obama administration will soon be gone. In a potential second term, the administration will have to look at more substantial rule changes. The administration is still on pace to meet its 2-for-1 goal of deregulatory actions for each new regulation, however, the ratio is shrinking each year.

*More information about the administration’s progress:*

GWU Regulatory Stats: **[HERE](https://regulatorystudies.columbian.gwu.edu/reg-stats)**

Pages in the Federal Register: **[HERE](https://www.llsdc.org/assets/sourcebook/fed-reg-pages.pdf)**

**RAC Resources**

You can always find all RAC content (blogs, updates, press releases, and comment campaigns) **[HERE](https://www.freedomworks.org/issue/regulatory-reform)**.

You can always sign up to become an elite RACtivist, if you haven’t already, **[HERE](http://fwact.org/aLPx6mP)**.


[RACGraphic_Lunch]: https://fw-d7-freedomworks-org.s3.amazonaws.com/RACGraphic_Lunch.png

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