Goodlatte & Marino Praise House Judiciary Committee Approval of a Bill to Update the U.S. Code

Press Release

The House Judiciary Committee today approved the creation of a new title within the United States Code to better organize the nation's environmental laws by a vote of 20-13.

Introduced by Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), H.R. 2834consolidates existing environmental laws into a single title within the United States Code. The streamlining of the statutes into a single title of the U.S. Code will allow for greater transparency and easier access to the nation's current environmental laws without changing the meaning or effect of the laws.

The House Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction to examine and approve revisions to the U.S. Code based on recommendations of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, which oversees the upkeep of the United States Code.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino issued the following statements after the approval of the bill by the House Judiciary Committee:

Chairman Goodlatte: "I am pleased with the House Judiciary Committee's adoption of this important update to the U.S. Code. The Office of Law Revision Counsel has taken a serious look at the deficiencies within the U.S. Code and has determined that it is in the ultimate interest of transparency and accountability that the provisions of our nation's environmental law be consolidated under a single title within the U.S. Code.

"For over six decades Congress has enacted a substantial number of laws concerning the environment, and those statutes have subsequently been placed in many different areas of the U.S. Code. The House Judiciary Committee and the Office of Law Revision Counsel believe that the merging of these laws under a single title within the U.S. Code will benefit the American people, and foster greater efficiencies for the U.S. Code, without changing any aspect of the underlying substantive law."

Subcommittee Chairman Marino: "Sometimes the most straightforward and mundane aspects of Judiciary Committee jurisdiction are the most meaningful. Passing H.R. 2834 will centralize decades of important environmental laws into one location within the U.S. Code. This will make them more easily understood for the benefit of the American people as well as the compliance needs of the regulated entities under them. Like so much of our work within the committee, this bill is another step toward making U.S. laws simpler and clearer. H.R. 2834 continues this Committee's dedication to making government more efficient."

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