Date: 2011-12-07
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I am pleased to join my dear friend and colleague on the Judiciary Committee. the gentleman from Georgia. in offering this amendment as the JohnsonJackson Lee amendment. I hold a sign that. I think. speaks to the gist of this amendment. "Make It In America." A number of us have been on the floor of the House on a regular basis talking about creating jobs and about making it in America. My good friend from Texas just passed an amendment without opposition. and I see no reason why the Jackson LeeJohnson or JohnsonJackson Lee amendment cannot be accepted in the very same way. Bruce Bartlett. one of the senior policy analysts in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. observed that regulatory uncertainty is a canard. an invented canard. that allows those who use it to use current economic problems to pursue an agenda supported by the business community year in and year out. In other words. it is a simple case of opportunism because regulations dont stop you from creating jobs. In actuality. they provide cleaner air. they provide clean food. they provide the opportunity of a roadmap so that small and large businesses can do their work. The Clean Air Act is a shining example. A lot of regulations came out of the Clean Air Act. Given that the economy since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970 under Richard Milhous Nixon. a Republican. it shows that the economy has grown 204 percent and that private sector job creation has expanded 86 percent. I would ask my colleagues to join us in supporting the JohnsonJackson Lee amendment. Lets make it in America. Lets ensure there is a regulatory process that exempts any regulation that creates jobs. I ask my colleagues to support the amendment. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of amendment #2. that I offered along with my esteemed colleague Mr. JOHNSON. to H.R. 10 Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS). Our amendment would exempt the Office of Management and Budget once it is determined that the rules they offer will result in net job creation. REINS would amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and require Congressional approval of all major rules (rules with an economic impact that is greater than $100 million). If Congress fails to act within 70 days the rule cannot be implemented. This change is targeted directly at executive agencies and does nothing to create jobs. In other words. this bill is calling for Congressional oversight of Executive branch activities and functions. I have been serving as member of this governing body since 1995. and oversight of the Executive branch is exactly what Congress does. One of the main functions of the Congressional Committees is oversight. If Congress were required to proactively approve every federal rule. it would be extremely time consuming. The Federal agencies of the Executive branch are made up of experts in their respective fields. Many of the regulations that Federal agencies enact are very specific and require a high level of familiarity with the minute details of certain issues. The time it would take members of Congress to become adequately acquainted with each issue being proposed by each Federal agency would certainly be more productive if channeled into efforts to effect the change that Americans want. For example extending unemployment insurance. job creation. and encouraging job growth. Yet. here we are again wasting time on a measure that will not help our economy. As we consider REINS. it is important that we not forget that federal agencies have their own oversight process in place to ensure that proposed regulations are thoroughly vetted. For every proposed regulation. agencies are required to issue notice of proposed rulemakings to the industry and market over which they regulate. Those entities then comment on the rules. and they go through many rounds of changes before a final order is enacted. Furthermore. rules enacted by Federal agencies are subject to Congressional oversight and review. and must meet standards of judicial review. Arguably. rules and regulations issued by Federal agencies go through just as much. if not more. review as bills considered and passed by Congress. Implementing this rule would put a tremendous burden on Congress. and to be frank. as members elected by our constituencies to represent their interests. our time could be utilized in a much more effective manner. Instead of debating about oversight authority that Congress already has. we should be focusing on the issues that most concern the American people. particularly. creating jobs. As our country rebounds from one of the most severe economic downturns in our history. it is imperative that we make decisions that will enable our economy to grow and. most importantly. create jobs. We should be using our judgment in a manner that would create American jobs by comprehensively reforming our broken immigration system. We should be working to implement an orderly process for immigration that eases the burden on employers. improves documentation. and complements our enforcement efforts to make them more effective. Healthy market competition not only protects consumers. but will help our economy to prosper. Congress should be examining the consolidation taking place in certain industries to ensure healthy competition is alive and thriving. America is a free enterprise society. and small businesses are part of the backbone of our economy. employing a vast portion of Americans. We should be ensuring that any consolidation taking place in the marketplace does not push out small businesses and render them unable to compete. In the last couple of years. some sweeping mergers and acquisitions have taken place. Just recently. it was reported that 500 jobs are being cut as a result of last years UnitedContinental merger. As we face a high unemployment rate. and Americans struggle to make ends meet. every job counts. We should be investigating the outcomes of mergers such as UnitedContinental. amongst others. to ensure that no more precious jobs are being lost. Many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have stood up here and emphasized the importance of jobs for American workersespecially in the context of immigration debates. However. one of the largest contributors to the lack of employment opportunities here in American is the outsourcing of jobs to other countries where the labor is less expensive. We should be focusing our efforts on ways to return outsourced jobs to American soil. Bottom line. Congress has a large responsibility. We carry on our shoulders the needs of the American people. Our time here is valuable and our work load is great. We should not further burden this body with the work that an entire branch of government has already been commissioned to do. especially since Congress still has oversight authority. For each one of us. the needs of the constituents in our districts should be our priority. The needs of the American people as a whole should be our priority. There is no credible evidence that regulations depress job creation. The Majoritys own witness at the legislative hearing clearly debunked the myth that regulations stymie job creation. Christopher DeMuth. who appeared on behalf of the American Enterprise Institute. a conservative think tank. stated in his prepared testimony that the "focus on jobs . . . can lead to confusion in regulatory debates" and that "the employment effects of regulation. while important. are indeterminate." If anything. regulations may promote job growth and put Americans back to work. For instance. According to the BlueGreen Alliance. notes: "Studies on the direct impact of regulations on job growth have found that most regulations result in modest job growth or have no effect. and economic growth has consistently surged forward in concert with these health and safety protections. The Clean Air Act is a shining example. given that the economy has grown 204% and private sector job creation has expanded 86% since its passage in 1970." Regulation and economic growth can go hand in hand. Regarding the Clean Air Act. the White House Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") recently observed that 40 years of success with this measure "have demonstrated that strong environmental protections and strong economic growth go hand in hand." Similarly. the Natural Resources Defense Council and the United Auto Workers cite the fact that increased fuel economy standards have already led to the creation of more than 155.000 U.S. jobs. The claim that regulatory uncertainty hurts business has been debunked as political opportunism. Bruce Bartlett. a senior policy analyst in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations observed "[R]egulatory uncertainty is a canard invented by Republicans that allows them to use current economic problems to pursue an agenda supported by the business community year in and year out. In other words. it is a simple case of political opportunism. not a serious effort to deal with high unemployment." Regulatory uncertainty does not deter business investment. A lack of demand. not uncertainty about regulation. is cited as the reason for not hiring. At a legislative hearing on regulatory reform . Professor Sidney Shapiro similarly noted. "All of the available evidence contradicts the claim that regulatory uncertainty is deterring business investment." A July 2011 Wall Street Journal survey of business economists found that the "main reason U.S. companies are reluctant to step up hiring is scant demand. rather than uncertainty over government policies." The most recent National Federation of Independent Business survey of its members likewise shows that "poor sales"-not regulationis the biggest problem. Of those reporting negative sales trends. 45 percent blamed faltering sales. 5 percent higher labor costs. 15 percent higher materials costs. 3 percent insurance costs. 8 percent lower selling prices and 10 percent higher taxes and regulatory costs." Small businesses reject the argument that deregulation is what they need. The Main Street Alliance. an alliance of small businesses. observes: "In survey after survey and interview after interview. Main Street small business owners confirm that what we really need is more customersmore demandnot deregulation. Policies that restore our customer base are what we need now. not policies that shift more risk and more costs onto us from big corporate actors ... I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to create jobs and get our country on a path to a strong economic future. what small businesses need is customersAmericans with spending money in their pocketsnot watered down standards that give big corporations free reign to cut corners. use their market power at our expense. and force small businesses to lay people off and close up shop."