Searching for and Cutting Regulations That Are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Like the mountain of antiregulation bills we have considered in the past, the SCRUB Act is in no way a serious effort to make targeted improvements to the rulemaking process.

Touted by its supporters as a job creation measure, this irresponsible bill takes a sledgehammer approach to reform. Particularly egregious is this legislation's complete failure to provide an exemption for emergency situations. My amendment would correct this very serious mistake.

In March 2014, the Oso landslide, a horrific natural disaster that took the lives of 43 people in my district, required every available resource to be deployed without delays. And given the many crises the country faced last year alone, from wildfires to terrorist threats, I am alarmed that we are considering a bill today that would get in the way of an agency trying to do its job at critical moments like these. The idea that an agency responding to an emergency would be forced to weigh what existing regulations to get rid of before they can take new action, while lives are at risk, cannot be what this body intends.

Bills like this are not jobs packages. They are pandering to a few select corporate special interests that put the lives and well-being of every American at risk.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on my amendment and to ensure, the next time our country faces an emergency, the citizens of this country can rest assured knowing that the Federal agencies they expect to provide services in times of crises will not have their hands tied by this irresponsible legislation.

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Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Chair, I think that my colleague, Mr. Chaffetz, would agree with my amendment because this bill requires that before agencies can issue a new rule, they get rid of an old one, and there is no exception for emergencies. It seems like a very reasonable approach to make sure that, again, in a time of crisis, agencies are able to respond right away.

This is an important amendment. It is a very reasonable amendment. It addresses a serious flaw in the bill. I ask again for my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. DelBENE. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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