It's Only Just Begun - Part Whatever

The Republican-controlled Congress has voted to roll back an administrative rule blocking Americans deemed mentally impaired from buying guns, an early target of a lengthy list of Obama era rules lawmakers plan to overturn.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 235-180 to scrap rules that would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on mentally impaired persons.

The Obama administration initiated the regulation to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

  RT

The ruling wasn't exactly wide-ranging in the first place.

[T]he House of Representatives voted 235-180 to scrap rules that would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on mentally impaired persons.

[...]

The regulations states that only beneficiaries who met five criteria would be reported to the NICS: individuals who have filed a claim based on disability, are considered disabled, have a mental impairment, are between 18 years of age, and retirement age, and those considered incapable of managing their own benefit payments.

[...]

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has opposed the rule since it was proposed, arguing that the courts should determine who is mentally ill, not the SSA.

Well, somebody other than the SSA already determined that, or it wouldn't be on the SSA records.

Republicans pointed to the fact that, under the rule’s language, individuals could be added to the NICS database, solely based on the fact that they are considered incapable of managing their own benefit payments and require a “representative payee.”

I think we need to know just which Republicans said that, because it's obviously not true. However, maybe it should have been. People may be incapable of managing their SS benefits, but they can wield a gun.  I'm not comfortable with that.

If you ask me, a whole lot of people who have guns are mentally impaired.

With a Republican majority, the House was able to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the regulation without Democratic support.

The Congressional Review Act serves as an express lane for Congress to kill rules it doesn’t like. It’s the creation of Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, who got it implemented in 1996 as part of his Contract with America. It has only been used successfully once before, because the circumstances rarely line up where both Congress and the president want to repeal previous administration rules.

[...]


The House of Representatives is invoking [the CRA] to roll back the [Stream Protection Rule] which protects waterways from coal dust and other mining residue. Other new rules targeted by Congress today (Feb. 1) include one requiring energy companies to disclose payments to foreign countries and another that stiffens protections for nursing home patients.

[...]

Writing the [Stream Protection Rule] took a decade, as environmentalists battled with the mining industry over the language. The final regulation is thousands of pages long. The rule went into effect Jan. 19, the last day of the Obama administration, and it may not last a month on the books.
[...]

The act allows senators and representatives to enter a resolution, rather than a bill, to eliminate rules. Resolutions are treated differently from bills; they can’t be filibustered and need only a simple majority to pass. The tactic can only be used against rules issued in the last 60 legislative days

  QZ

Just a side curiosity - I wondered why we're using the term "rule" instead of "law". It's important apparently in the penalties. So I'm guessing there wouldn't be a lot of concern amongst polluting corporations about following the Stream Protection Rule in the first place.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.