The purpose of today s hearing is to examine how best to ensure that Congressional statutory intent is reflected in regulations developed and promulgated by the agencies.
Several examples leap to mind.
This proposed rule, popularly called Baby UI, could jeopardize the solvency of State unemployment insurance trust funds. Furthermore, when Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act, it limited the program to unpaid leave and exempted small businesses. The Subcommittee reviewed DOL s internal legal analysis and found that DOL was well aware that the rulemaking lacked a valid grant of statutory authority and probably could not survive a court challenge. I suspect that one reason agencies ignore statutory constraints on their authority is that Congress has largely abdicated its responsibility to control the cost and scope of regulations. Ever since the New Deal, Congress has delegated vast grants of authority to agencies.