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

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is relatively simple in that it adds consideration of unfunded mandates to the Commission's review of existing rules.

Each year, Washington imposes thousands of rules and regulations. Rather than following the rules themselves and asking for funds for new programs, regulators pass the cost along to others by requiring the private sector, as well as State and local governments, to pay for new Federal initiatives through compliance costs.

These costly mandates make it harder for companies to hire and for cash-strapped States, counties, and cities to keep streets safe and parks clean.

My amendment asks the commission to consider in its review whether unfunded mandates imposed in existing regulations are economically defensible and the least burdensome policy option available.

Federal agencies often advance Federal Government initiatives without using Federal taxpayer dollars by imposing regulations on local governments or the private sector. This simple amendment ensures that costs passed to State and local governments or to the private sector are both necessary and minimal.

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chairman, I yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer).

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chairman, in response to my colleague from Maryland, let me say that unfunded mandates take many forms that may not be included when regulatory costs are counted. That is why strong, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate passed the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act in 1995.

Similarly, my amendment ensures that costs passed from Federal agencies to State and local governments and private businesses are properly counted and considered. If mandates under review are economically defensible and represent the best policy option available, then the commission will not recommend they be repealed.

The issue of unfunded mandates is frequently overlooked in the debates about reforming our regulatory system and carrying out Federal policies. It is all too easy for Washington bureaucrats to write off concerns expressed by a handful of local governments or of a small subset of private businesses, but these decisions have real costs and real effects on the individuals, families, and communities we each represent.

While my amendment is a small change, it ensures that costs passed down to businesses and to State and local governments are truly the best means to achieve desired policy ends; so I thank my colleagues for their consideration and ask for their support.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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