Tom Harkin: “I appreciate what my friend has said. To a certain degree, again, like the rest of this, when one reads it, it sounds…”

“I appreciate what my friend has said. To a certain degree, again, like the rest of this, when one reads it, it sounds OK, but that is pretty vague--human health or safety or national security. It is vague. Who decides what that is? Now I think we get to the nub of what is wrong with this amendment. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, any agency, if the agency is promulgating a rule, has to allow time and opportunity for public comment on the proposed rule. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, the public must be involved, the public must be heard on the record, and the agencies have to take the public's input into account when they are promulgating the rule. The amendment of the Senator from Missouri does not allow for that. This says the Secretary makes these decisions, there is no public comment, and then it goes to the President. Did I miss a part of it?”