Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment, which would restrict taxpayer funds from being used to finalize any rule or regulation that has resulted in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more at the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Under the Biden-Harris regime, the regulatory landscape has never been worse. Regulatory agencies within the Department of the Interior have exerted an extraordinary amount of power with very limited oversight.

My amendment seeks to change this dynamic by requiring that any major rule or regulation proposed by these agencies must be approved by Congress before it can take effect.

This means that the elected Representatives of the American people would have a direct say in the regulations that govern our natural resources and public lands. It means that the individuals who are closest to their constituents, who understand the needs and concerns of their communities, will be at the forefront of decisionmaking.

I, of course, believe that commonsense Americans would be incensed to know that in 2023 alone, the Biden-Harris regime ended the year by adding nearly 91,000 pages to the Federal Register of regulations.

Why should Americans care about that? Because those 91,000 pages of regulations just cost every American family over $15,000 annually.

That is right. American families now pay $15,000 more every single year for the exact same goods and services thanks to these onerous regulations, but it gets worse. Who do these hardworking families turn to to fight these new costs, these new rules, these new regulations that are dictating every aspect of our lives? Not their elected officials, no.

These expensive and expansive rules and regulations housed in those 91,000 pages, those are the doing of the nameless, faceless bureaucrats that dwell in basements all over Washington, D.C., who, by the way, are not elected. Quite frankly, Mr. Chair, that should piss off every single American.

It is a slap in the face that we the people have no recourse, which is why my amendment reining in these rules and regulations is so very important.

You can and should be able to fire your elected officials. In the case of these all too powerful bureaucrats, you can't even find them, let alone stop them. This is where our amendment, the REINS Act, comes in and is so important.

Under the Biden-Harris regime, regulations cost more than the entire Federal discretionary budget. Let me repeat that. Under the Biden- Harris regime, they have added more in regulatory costs that add up to more than the entire Federal discretionary budget.

As a point of reference, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which funded government, came in at a price tag of $1.7 trillion. The Biden- Harris regime's price tag on their regulations was over $2 trillion with a t.

It is not just the cost that is insane. It is the unachievable nature of these regulations. Take, for instance, the proposed greenhouse gas emission standards. There are no vehicles that exist today that can do the job and make the grade on the standard.

Your leaf blower and lawnmower at home, under the Biden-Harris regime, need to be zero emission. Good luck buying that in Biden's economy.

Permitting requirements for livestock emissions are unachievable because of, well, science. Shocking, I know. What sounded good on paper is quite literally unfeasible in real life.

Government is supposed to serve the people, not make their life harder, and quite frankly, that is all these regulations are doing, making life harder and more expensive.

Mr. Speaker, there has never been a better time to rein in spending. We need to rein in these frivolous rules and regulations and rein in the true swamp creatures called bureaucrats.

If you believe in the principle that significant regulatory decisions should not be made behind closed doors but rather in the open Halls of Congress where the voices of the American people can be heard, you will support this amendment.

If you believe that the American people should be at the center of the decision-making process, you will support this amendment.

If you believe in government transparency and accountability, you will support this amendment.

It is time that this body starts asserting its constitutional Article I authority and adopt this amendment.

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Chair, it is laid out pretty simply. If we are to really restore the people's voice in this Chamber, we have to adopt this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to join me in putting the American people first, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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