Wisconsin Republicans Ron Johnson and Reid Ribble are pushing for a broad moratorium on new federal regulations, calling it a “jobs bill that could actually pass.”

Their proposal would ban federal agencies from taking “significant regulatory action” until the unemployment rate falls back below the level it was at the outset of the Obama administration, 7.8%.

Johnson introduced the bill in the Senate earlier this year and Ribble introduced a companion bill in the House this week.

At a press conference in the Capitol Thursday, the two argued that the regulatory burden on business is too burdensome and growing.  Deregulating was a big part of Johnson’s 2010 campaign agenda. Johnson said Thursday that the growth of regulation has been a “bipartisan problem” pre-dating the Obama administration but he and GOP colleagues who joined him Thursday assailed the president’s record on regulation.    

“What this bill does is say stop the madness,” said Johnson.

The Obama administration recently announced it was stopping a planned increase in clean air standards. But last week the White House denied reports it was considering a broader regulatory freeze.

On a separate front, Johnson released his own ideas for $1.4 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years as the so-called deficit-reduction “super-committee” in Congress undertakes its charge of identifying $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in spending reductions.

You can find Johnson's proposed cuts here.

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