WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is supporting a bill that would require federal agencies to weigh costs and benefits in their regulatory decision-making and ensure adequate time for stakeholder input.

“Excessive regulation harms economic growth, and with the size of the U.S. workforce at a historic low, we should think carefully before imposing additional burdens on the American people,” Wicker said. “Repealing outdated regulations and requiring a cost-benefit analysis on new regulations are sensible ideas that will strengthen our economy and help more people get back to work.”

The measure, known as the “Regulatory Responsibility for Our Economy Act,” S. 168, would also require the federal government to review all economically significant rules in an effort to identify overly burdensome regulations and propose a timeline to repeal those rules. The legislation is authored by Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to impose costly new regulations on power plants and its proposal to expand the definition of “navigable water” to include farm ponds are examples of regulations that would be affected by this legislation.

Senator Wicker was an original cosponsor of similar legislation in the previous Congress.