Directing Committees to Review Regualtions from Federal Agencies

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Res. 72.

It's been five weeks since the House Republican leadership convened the 112th Congress. But we've yet to see any legislation brought to the floor to spur job creation, as they promised. None.

And just yesterday Republicans voted against allowing a jobs bill--the Build America Bonds to Create Jobs Now Act--to even come to the floor for a vote.

Instead of focusing on jobs, they are spending ten hours this week talking about how Congress should perform oversight duties.

Forgive me if I point out that this is one of the main responsibilities of Congress. Don't waste ten hours talking about it, just do it.

And if a House Committee does anything right now, I'm sure our constituents would appreciate sending them an American job-creating bill.

Our economy is showing clear signs of recovery, but it is fragile and there is still much more work to do. There are too many Americans out of work and even more struggling to make ends meet.

We should be building on the economic recovery efforts of the last two years, not backtracking. But that' s just what' s happening.

Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is dictating spending caps for fiscal year 2011, which will cut the same types of discretionary spending that was such a critical component in the Recovery Act--making Chairman RYAN'S plan a veritable ``anti-Recovery Act.''

Democrats in Congress have committed to measuring every effort by whether it creates jobs, strengthens the middle class, and reduces the deficit. Well so far, the Republican leadership gets a ZERO for the 112th Congress.

I say to my Republican friends, let's stop wasting time and let's get to work!

Oh, and if you are serious about weighing the benefits of Federal regulations, I recommend my colleagues read the Bush Administration's 2008 report to Congress on the subject.

That report found the annual benefits of Federal regulations to the American public outweighed the costs by as much as 14 to 1. So perhaps we should be reading that report on the floor instead of this colossal waste of time.

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