Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3463, Terminating Presidential Election Campaign Fund and Election Assistance Commission; Providing for Consideration of H.R. 527, Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3010, Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011
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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule and the underlying bills. Instead of creating jobs, the Grover Norquist/Tea Party Republicans are assaulting the very regulations that ensure we have clean air, safe water and food, along with safe prescription drugs and other products that Americans consume. They want us to create so many barriers and obstacles that it would essentially make it impossible for Federal agencies to do their jobs, all in the name of simply increasing the profits of big business.
The Regulatory Accountability Act would require agencies to perform 60 additional analyses and other procedural actions within the rulemaking process, further slowing down an already burdensome process. I am talking about bureaucratic red tape. They want to take it to the next level. They want to duct tape and blindfold and put a straitjacket on Federal agencies issuing regulations that help Americans. This would also make it much easier for large corporations to evade their obligations to protect the public by giving special interests multiple points in the process to tie up the process in knots.
The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act is no better. It's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Don't be fooled. This is not about helping small businesses. It's about halting regulations and increasing the profits of big business. Under the guise of small business protection, it would subject any regulation that could conceivably have any direct impact on small businesses to a more lengthy process, thereby delaying the implementation of virtually any action any agency proposes and wasting agency time while doing so.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule and the underlying bills.
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