Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I am opposed.
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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.
My amendment is a commonsense measure that protects the American people from corruption and conflicts of interest.
My amendment simply states that before taking any action to eliminate or change a regulation, regulators must disclose any communications from the White House or the President's family advocating for the action and whether the President, his family, or any senior administration officials would benefit financially from such action.
The American people need to have confidence that their government is working in the best interest of the people and not to enrich a President and his family and wealthy friends.
Every day, the news is filled with stories that raise this very question. Does the Trump family benefit when the EPA loosens environmental safeguards on construction projects?
Does Jared Kushner's deeply indebted family business receive favorable treatment when he advocates for certain policies?
Do the President's sons get special permits from foreign governments when the President changes policies towards those countries?
Who in the administration gets richer when our coasts are opened up to oil drilling, when tariffs are levied on steel, or when predatory lenders are allowed to prey on college students?
President Trump has rejected the norm that all modern-day Presidents have followed. His refusal to release his tax returns or to remove himself from his family business necessitates codifying the norms and practices of previous Presidents into law in this disclosure.
Congress must do its job and provide a necessary check on a President who has shown contempt for his basic duty to put Americans first. All of these policies affect American families. They affect the taxes we pay, the air we breathe, and whether our kids can afford to go to college.
We deserve to know if these decisions are being made to enrich a President and if they are being made at the taxpayers' expense. This simple act of disclosure will allow the American people to judge for themselves who this administration is really looking out for.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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