Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is simple. It ensures that
agencies must take into consideration the impacts on low-income
communities when they develop regulations.

This amendment is based on a 1994 executive order from President
Clinton that was intended to protect low-income populations from the
negative effects of regulations.

Burdensome regulations have a real impact on families, regardless of
their race or ethnicity. What makes sense on a bureaucrat's desk in
Washington does not always work in the real world. In fact, these
regulations are hurting people, especially in economically depressed
communities. People have lost jobs and are facing increasing prices for
energy, food, health care, and more.

The families who bear the brunt are not just statistics. They are
fellow Americans. We need to show compassion towards them, especially
those most vulnerable.

Regulations, as you have heard, are costing our economy $1.8 trillion
each year, costing the average family $15,000. So what does that mean
for the farmer in San Joaquin Valley, California, or the coal miner in Hazard,
Kentucky, or the widow on a fixed income in Marietta, Ohio? They are
worried about providing for their families. What happens if they lose
their livelihood because of a new regulation?

The bureaucrats in Washington who are writing these excessive
regulations are seemingly focused on saving the world but are
forgetting what is happening to American families. I want them to
understand the impact they are having on people's lives.

The costs of these regulations are born by people who can least
afford it, not by the agencies writing the regulations. These
bureaucrats should get out from behind their desks and come to
communities in West Virginia and Georgia and Montana and across the
Nation that are still struggling economically.

This is not just about coal miners and the energy industry. Excessive
regulations are hurting farmers, manufacturers, health care workers,
and small businesses of every kind.

Rather than blindly issuing regulations in pursuit of an ideological
goal, agencies should stop and consider what they are doing, be more
empathetic, take into account what would happen to a family that is
living paycheck to paycheck or a senior on fixed income.

Too often, Americans all across this country believe that no one in
Washington really cares about them. This amendment will help change
that perception. Let's show some compassion to people and families that
are struggling.

Plain and simple: we must ensure that the Federal agencies truly,
truly take into consideration those that bear the burden of these
regulations.

I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia, Chairman Goodlatte, for
his support of this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Chairman, in closing, we just heard the chairman
talk about, this is an executive order. And I have heard from folks on
the other side that this is an executive order. Perhaps it is time to
codify this executive order.

If it had merit back in 1994, let's make it the rule; make it a law.
This amendment will accomplish that.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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