Measure passed the House, died in the Senate

During the 2010 midterm elections, House Republicans pledged to "require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more."

A bill that subsequently passed the House -- the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act -- introduced significant new limitations on the power of executive agencies to make rules. But the bill got just four Democratic votes and went nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
   
The REINS Act requires congressional approval of a major rule -- one that has an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more -- before it can take effect. A rule may also be considered major if it results in a significant increase in costs or prices, or if it has significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or U.S. competitiveness.
   
Under the measure, Congress must approve the rule within a certain time period, and if it doesn't, the rule is deemed not to have been approved and will not take effect, although there are a few exceptions, such as an imminent threat to health or safety, the need to enforce criminal laws, to support national security or to implement an international trade agreement.

On Dec. 7, 2011, almost a year after the REINS Act was introduced, the House passed it by a 241-184 margin. All 237 Republicans voting supported it, and all but four of the 188 Democrats who voted opposed it.

To be sent to the president, such a bill would have needed to receive Senate approval, but once there, it languished in committee. Pledge-O-Meter ratings are based on outcomes -- and this one fizzled. So we rate this a Promise Broken.