Sen. Orrin Hatch pressures the Obama administration to release a secret Reagan-era memorandum used to this day to shield executive actions and regulations from congressional scrutiny.
Reports FOX News:
At issue is a 1983 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that permits the Treasury Department to “escape” a review of economic costs and benefits when it comes to IRS rules.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says this has helped the administration pursue a range of unilateral changes – and he wants the memo made public.
“This non-public MOU between the Treasury and White House further cloaks the regulatory process in secrecy and decreases regulatory transparency at a time when the Executive Branch is attempting to achieve a great deal of policy through regulatory measures generally and tax regulations specifically,” Hatch wrote to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
In the letter, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee argued the memo has been used by the Executive Branch to skirt congressional scrutiny for changes on everything from corporate taxes to ObamaCare. Committee sources told FoxNews.com the memo is a “loophole” being abused in order to reduce transparency.
