Date: 2014-02-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

It will override existing statutes. such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Act. and override any aspect of regulating this important food product. adding more than 60 additional procedural and analytical requirements to the FDAs work on trying to help babies and making it easier for rules to be delayed or stopped by allowing regulated industry and entities to intervene. And so. in actuality. this is not saving money. It will be a quagmire of spending money. In the meantime. the protections of our innocent babies who demand the responsibility of adults to protect the food products that they need for life by good regulations will be stopped. Well. Madam Chairman. I dont want to go back down memory lane and horrible car crashes and no seatbelts and no airbags and polluted air and dangerous water. That is what we will be doing. I look forward to introducing my amendment on the floor regarding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I cant imagine that my colleagues would want to stand in the way of securing America. With that in mind. I hope that we will find a way to defeat this legislation. or to make it better. and ask our colleagues who are they standing for. Madam Chair. I rise today to speak on H.R. 2804. the "All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act of 2014." the socalled "ALERRT Act." H.R. 2804 makes numerous changes to the federal rulemaking process. including: (1) requiring agencies to consider numerous new criteria when issuing rules. such as alternatives to rules proposals. (2) requiring agencies to review the "indirect" costs of proposed and existing rules. (3) giving the Small Business Administration expanded authority to intervene in the rulemaking of other agencies. and (4) requiring federal agencies to file monthly reports on the status of their rulemaking activities. I cannot support this legislation in its present form for two reasons. one procedural and one substantive. Procedurally. I oppose the bill because in its present form it was never considered by the Judiciary Committee. This bill was reported by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a party line 1915 vote but was not acted on by Judiciary Committee. As reported. the bill contained only provisions relating to monthly reporting requirements regarding agency rulemaking. But the bill being brought to the floor now includes three additional and very controversial Judiciary bills (H.R. 2122. Regulatory Accountability Act. H.R. 1493. Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act. and H.R. 2542. Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act). This is not the way to legislate on matters that have such serious consequences for the public health and safety. Substantively. I oppose the bill because it imposes unneeded and costly analytical and procedural requirements on agencies that would prevent them from performing their statutory responsibilities to protect the public health and safety. I oppose the bill also because it creates unnecessary regulatory and legal uncertainty. increases costs for businesses and State. local and tribal governments. and impedes commonsense protections for the American public. Madam Chairman. the bill is unnecessary and invites frivolous litigation. When a federal agency promulgates a regulation. it already must adhere to the requirements of the statute that it is implementing. Agencies already must adhere to the robust and wellunderstood procedural requirements of federal law. including the Administrative Procedure Act. the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA). the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). and the Congressional Review Act. Regulatory agencies already are required to promulgate regulations only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the regulations justify the costs and to consider regulatory alternatives. Final regulations are subject to review by the federal courts which. among other things. examine whether agencies have satisfied the substantive and procedural requirements of all applicable statutes. Finally. Madam Chairman. H.R. 2804 in its current form does not include an exemption for rules promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security to protect the safety of the American people and the security of our country. For this reason. I offered an amendment that provides this important exception and I thank the Rules Committee for making it in order. The security of the homeland is one of the most preeminent concerns of the federal government. The increased need for national security following the attacks of September nth makes it important that the Department of Homeland Security not be unduly impeded in the promulgation of rules that may preempt attacks against our nation. Unnecessary delays to rules set forth by the Department of Homeland Security can wastes scarce resources that keep our nation safe as well as impede the regular operations of the agency. The Jackson Lee Amendment to H.R. 2804 will improve the bill. But. on balance. the bill still has too many defects and should not be passed by this body.