Date: 2011-12-01
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me again appeal to the bipartisanship of my colleagues. This is a very troublesome bill. and this bill interferes with the normal process. if you will. of dealing with the regulatory scheme. Although its called the Regulatory Flexibility Act. I can assure you that the purpose of this legislation is. one. not to create jobs. and certainly not to help us secure the homeland. The bill would add new review requirements to an already long and complicated process allowing special interest lobbyists to secondguess the work of respected scientists and staff through legal challenges. sparking a wave of litigation. This is what Homeland Security regulations would have to go through. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 and since my membership on the committee that was a select committee. weve overhauled the government in ways weve never done before. Steps have been taken to ensure that the communication failures that led to 9/11 are corrected. More than 220 million tons of cargo moved. for example. through the Port of Houston in 2010. That cargo has to be inspected. And the port ranked first in foreign waterborne tonnage for the 15th consecutive year. Just imagine a regulation dealing with the scanning or the security of that tonnage to be interfered with by H.R. 527. If Coast Guard intelligence had evidence of a potential attack on the Port of Houston and they wanted the Department of Homeland Security to address it or they used a regulation or there was a regulation in process. then it would have to be stopped by this legislation. It is important to recognize that homeland security is not security by appointment. It is not security by "let me address regulations by having them vetted by H.R. 527." This is a commonsense amendment that simply says. as it deals with the homeland security or the securing of our Nation as we look to be better than what occurred in 9/11 where agencies were not communicating with each other. where the fault of the cybersecurity system did not work. and we had the heinous tragedy of losing 3.000plus of our souls in New York City. As we see the franchising of terrorism where there is the shoe bomber and the Christmas Day bomber and the Times Square bomber. its important not to have a fettered Homeland Security Department in a regulatory process that is stopped by overlying legislation. This legislation is a jobkiller. we already know. Lets not let it be a killer of Americans because it gets in the way of Homeland Security efforts doing the work that is necessary. I ask my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee amendment that asks simply for a waiver of this legislation as it addresses the question of securing the homeland and the regulatory scheme that is needed by intelligence agencies. our Border Patrol agencies. our TSOs that deal with aviation security. our cargo inspectors. As it relates to that work. our front line. let us waive this legislation. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 527. the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011. This bill would amend the Regulatory Flexibility Act. RFA. The bill would expand the number of rules covered by the RFA and requires Federal agencies to perform additional analysis of regulations that affect small businesses. As a senior member of the Homeland Security and ranking member of the Transportation Security Subcommittee. I am very concerned about any legislation that would hinder the Department of Homeland Securitys ability to respond to an emergency. which is why the Department of Homeland Security. DHS. should be exempt from this legislation. This bill delays the promulgation of federal regulations. and delays a Federal agencys ability to issue regulations when responding to an emergency and grants the Small Business Administrations. SBA. Office of Advocacy additional authority to intervene in agency rulemaking. without providing additional funding. Further. H.R. 527 repeals an agencys authority to waive regulatory analysis during an emergency. The bill would add new review requirements to an already long and complicated process. allowing special interest lobbyists to secondguess the work of respected scientists and staff through legal challenges. sparking a wave of litigation that would add more costs and delays to the rulemaking process. potentially putting the lives. health and safety of millions of Americans at risk. The Department of Homeland Security simply does not have the time to be hindered by frivolous and unnecessary litigation. especially when the safety and security of the American people are at risk. According to a study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute. public protections and regulations "do not tend to significantly impede job creation". and furthermore. over the course of the last several decades. the benefits of Federal regulations have significantly outweighed their costs. There is no need for this legislation. aside from the need of some of my colleagues to protect corporate interests. This bill would make it more difficult for the government to protect its citizens. and in the case of the Department of Homeland Security. it endangers the lives of our citizens. In our post 9/11 climate. homeland security continues to be a top priority for our Nation. As we continue to face threats from enemies foreign and domestic. we must ensure that we are doing all we can to protect our country. The Department of Homeland Security cannot react to the constantly changing threat landscape effectively if they are subject to this bill. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. we have overhauled the government in ways never done before. Steps have been taken to ensure that the communication failures that led to 9/11 do not happen again. The Department of Homeland Security has helped push the United States forward in how we protect our Nation. Continuing to make advances in homeland security and intelligence is the best way to combat the threats we still face. Hindering the ability of DHS to make changes to rules and regulations puts the entire country at risk. As the Representative for the 18th District of Texas. I know about vulnerabilities in security firsthand. The Coast Guard. under the directive of the Department of Homeland Security. is tasked with protecting our ports of entry. Of the 350 major ports in America. the Port of Houston is one of the busiest. More than 220 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Houston in 2010. and the port ranked first in foreign waterborne tonnage for the 15th consecutive year. The port links Houston with over 1.000 ports in 203 countries. and provides 785.000 jobs throughout the state of Texas. Maritime ports are centers of trade. commerce. and travel along our Nations coastline. protected by the Coast Guard. under the direction of DHS. If Coast Guard intelligence has evidence of a potential attack on the port of Houston. I want the Department of Homeland Security to be able to protect my constituents. by issuing the regulations needed without being subject to the constraints of this bill. The Department of Homeland Security deserves an exemption not only because they may need to quickly change regulations in response to new information or threats. but also because they are tasked with emergency preparedness and response. There are many challenges our communities face when we are confronted with a catastrophic event or a domestic terrorist attack. It is important for people to understand that our capacity to deal with hurricanes directly reflects our ability to respond to a terrorist attack in Texas or New York. an earthquake in California. or a nationwide pandemic flu outbreak. On any given day the City of Houston and cities across the United States face a widespread and everchanging array of threats. such as: terrorism. organized crime. natural disasters and industrial accidents. Cities and towns across the nation face these and other threats. Indeed. every day. ensuring the security of the homeland requires the interaction of multiple Federal departments and agencies. as well as operational collaboration across Federal. State. local. tribal. and territorial governments. nongovernmental organizations. and the private sector. We can hinder the Department of Homeland Securitys ability to protect the safety and security of the American people. This bill expands the review that agencies must conduct before issuing new regulations and the review they must conduct of existing rules to include an evaluation of the "indirect" costs of regulations. and grants the SBA authority to intervene in agency rulemaking. The measure also expands the ability of small businesses and other small entities impacted by an agencys regulations to challenge those rules in court. Under current law. the process already takes as long as eight years to complete. Given the nature of its mission. the Department of Homeland Security is the last agency that needs to be subject to more levels of regulation and scrutiny. Some advocates groups also have expressed concern that by extending the rulemaking process. regulatory uncertainty could increase. which may make it more cost effective for agencies to seek enforcement through the courts. and thereby reduce the publics ability to participate in the process. These costs add to the cost of doing business with the Department of Homeland Security. and eat away at the profits of our businesses. particularly our small businesses which often are not as equipped to absorb additional costs. Moreover. many businesses dealing with national security have higher costs because of expensive equipment. and as such are already working with lower profit margins. The prolonged or indefinite delay of these life saving regulations threaten the security. stability. and the delivery of vital services to the American people. I cannot speak for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. but I certainly do not want to slow the promulgation of regulations to a drip. I have offered this amendment to mitigate the uncertainty regarding federal laws and rulemaking in the area of national security because of the increased urgency when dealing with these often sensitive matters. The Department of Homeland Security is the newest federal agency. and as such already is subject to pioneering levels of oversight and scrutiny. I urge the Committee to make my amendment in order to ensure that life saving regulations promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security are not unnecessarily delayed by this legislation.