Republicans in Congress define what it means to be a walking contradiction. They decry government as too slow to match the speed of corporate innovation. Yet, instead of giving government the tools it needs to work for the American people, they want to put it up on cinder blocks.

Congress is considering a bill called the Regulatory Accountability Act. It's long and complicated, and masquerades as common sense, but here's the rub. The RAA would grind agencies that protect our health and protect consumers to a halt. By adding a host of bureaucratic hurdles and lobbyist-friendly loopholes the RAA would make it nearly impossible to create new rules to protect consumers, cut pollution, or adapt to new innovations. Driverless cars are the next big thing. But if the RAA passes, it's very possible that neither the Department of Transportation nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be able to write rules to ensure they safely operate. Corporate lobbyists and lawyers alone will decide the rules of the road. As the 21st century zooms ahead, we need to make government more nimble, not more inept. I urge Senators Bennet and Gardner to oppose this bill. Government should work better because the people need it, not worse because the corporations want it.

Morgan Osterling,

Lakewood