Date: 2014-02-27
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise to speak to the Jackson Lee amendment with great enthusiasm for its seriousness. and I say to my colleagues. there are no smoke and mirrors here. This amendment exempts rules made by the Secretary of Homeland Security or any consent decree or settlement made as a result of this rule. I dont think that we need to further educate our very diligent Members. whether they are on the Homeland Security or Judiciary or Intelligence or Armed Services Committees. or many other committees. about the new climate in which we live in this world after 9111. We simply have to look at the landscape that we are around as we speak: Central African Republic. South Sudan. Ukraine. Venezuela. Nigeria. and Syria. Just a few days ago. I was on the Israeli side of the Syrian border. and I could look into a city very close and see constant mortar fire. Everybody understands that with the new climate of franchise terrorism. al Qaeda travels from one conflict area to another. each time posing a threat to the United States of America or the West. Yet. we have legislation that does not exempt the actions of the Secretary of Homeland Security. who may be required to make emergency decisions. This particular legislation has 60 new barriers. procedural requirements. before an important rulemaking can go forward. It requires a 6month online presence before you can move forward. I would offer to say that the conflicts in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. the crisis in the Ukraine. on which America is standing on the sides of those who believe in democracy. the fighting in Nigeria between Christians and Muslims. and the conflict in Syria that has a terrible impact as we move forward on the Palestinian and Israeli peace processhow can we not exempt the Secretary of Homeland Security? Mr. Chairman. not only do we deal with issues of terrorism. but it is also the standup agency when America faces natural disasters. For example. Hurricane Rita was the fourthmostpowerful Atlantic storm in history. and made landfall with 120mileperhour winds. which had devastating consequences for many of my Texas constituents. That occurred just a few years ago. Hurricane Rita came out of the gulf. but Hurricane Sandy came out of the east coast and the Atlantic waters. It brought havoc that no one ever expected. FEMA was vital in the restoration of the lives of Americans. In that instance. I would think we would want any rulemaking process to move quickly. to be able to bring aid to those in need. As indicated. this is a question of national security and the protection of our people. We need swift responses to imminent threats to national security. We need to have flexibility for the Secretary of Homeland Security to make those decisions. H.R. 2804 was created under the guise of increasing transparency. I would offer to say that there are instances when all of us know that our security is crucial. Mr. Chairman. I ask that my colleagues support this exemption for Homeland Security to protect Americas homeland and national security. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. Chair. I rise today in strong support of my amendment to H.R. 2804 that provides a commonsense exception to the "All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2014." 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. My amendment provides an exception to the "All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2014" for rules made by the Secretary of Homeland Security or any consent decree or settlement made as a result of the rule. My amendment is simple in that it provides an exception for critical agency rules that the general safety and wellbeing of individuals in the United States. Mr. Chair. Hurricane Rita. which was the fourth most powerful Atlantic storm in history made landfall with 120 mile per hour winds and had devastating consequences to Texans. many of whom were my constitutients. Without Homeland Security how do Americans get through hurricanes and tornadoes?