House GOP, Business Group Declare War on Regulators : Government: New alliance attacks many federal rules as ‘oppressive . . . even irrational.’ Consumer organizations sound alarms.

Republican House members Wednesday teamed up with a newly formed business coalition and declared war on government regulators, assailing many federal rules and regulations as “overly oppressive, unreasonable and even irrational.”

Accusing unnamed bureaucrats of “abusive and Gestapo-like” behavior toward American businesses, incoming House whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) described the GOP-business alliance, known as Project Relief, as “the biggest effort ever to seek regulatory relief for small business, industry and indeed average Americans.”

The coalition’s unveiling signaled an escalation of one of the GOP’s primary legislative objectives for the 104th Congress, which begins Jan. 4. Reducing the federal regulatory burden is a tenet of the highly touted House GOP “contract with America” and Republican leaders already have called on the Clinton Administration to issue no new regulations during the first 100 days of the 1995 session.

But the Administration rejected a blanket moratorium Wednesday. Sally Katzen, an official of the White House Office of Management and Budget, called such a step a potential “blunderbuss that could work in unintended ways.” But, she said the President has directed federal agencies “to regulate only when necessary, and only in the most cost-effective manner.”

There are 5,000 regulations awaiting issuance, according to Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.). He also said that there are 132,000 federal workers “who do nothing but regulate.”

Consumer groups Wednesday reacted quickly to the press conference by GOP House members and the business coalition. Joan Claybrook, president of the advocacy group, Public Citizen, said that the project’s agenda “will stop the implementation of laws that save lives.” Such laws, she said, include those that “prevent deadly E. coli poisoning in meat . . . exposure to harmful chemicals and . . . the manufacture of automobiles which ignite upon collision.”

DeLay rejected her warnings.

“We’re not calling for an end for worker safety or health regulations or those kinds of things,” he said. “But, unfortunately, the bureaucrats for years have been . . . an adversary to business and working people instead of trying to help business and working people do the right things.”

Among those joining DeLay and a throng of businessmen and women was newly elected Rep. David M. McIntosh (R-Ind.), who ran the Council on Competitiveness under former Vice President Dan Quayle, an executive branch body that some accused of using its authority to review regulations to try to subvert legislation passed by a Democratic Congress during the George Bush Administration.

“We’re baaaaack,” McIntosh said with a broad grin. He has been named to chair a new House subcommittee on regulatory affairs.

The lone Democrat at Wednesday’s announcement was Louisiana Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, who is said to be seriously contemplating a switch in parties.

More than 200 businesses, industry associations and individuals already have signed up as members of Project Relief and they will provide the House members with support and coordination in carrying out the campaign to scale back government regulations, according to DeLay. Among the coalition members are the National Roofing Contractors Assn., National Assn. of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business and the United Parcel Service.

DeLay, who has a pest control business in Texas and sometimes identifies himself as “a bug killer,” put the cost of federal regulations to businesses at $500 billion a year.

He cited examples of what he regarded as unwarranted regulations. One involved a dry cleaner who was fined for not posting a list of employee injuries--when in fact there were no injuries to report. DeLay also criticized rules that he said require “detailed safety data sheets for such dangerous materials as Joy dishwashing liquid, chalk and even air.”