The Federal Consent Decree Fairness Act would free state and local government from court orders that are unnecessary to protect rights, yet prevent states and localities from adopting to the lessons of experience and changing priorities.

H.R. 10 requires Congress to vote on the rules which unelected agency officials issue under vague mandates from Congress. This is the right way to find out which regulations the voters desire.

Regulatory drag can be reduced only as part of a reform that credibly promises to ease burdens and protect the public. Such reform is possible, but it needs to start by changing how Congress approaches regulation: lawmakers must assume responsibility for rule-making.

The controversy over the Clean Air Act is worth understanding because it reveals a pivotal development that EPA and the environmental groups would prefer to conceal: the 40-year-old act is no longer a sensible way to regulate large-volume conventional air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter.

John Boehner and Eric Cantor want to see Congress approve or disapprove major agency resolutions. Democrats will offer a grab bag of excuses for why this should not be done.

REINS would improve environmental regulation by giving legislators a role in updating our obsolete environmental statutes. EPA has been rolling grenades to succeeding presidential administrations since it was established. The origin of the rolling, ticking hand grenades is Congress.

Less responsibility for agencies and more responsibility for Congress will translate into more protection for the beneficiaries of regulation.