Tom Latham: “While my amendment is very simple, it's aimed at addressing a very complex problem, the problem of duplicative and…”

“While my amendment is very simple, it's aimed at addressing a very complex problem, the problem of duplicative and conflicting Federal regulations. In the underlying bill, Federal agencies are required to submit, along with the rule they want Congress to approve, a list of other regulatory actions to implement the same statute or regulatory objective, in other words, Mr. Chairman, to actually investigate whether the regulations may be redundant. It's not clear whether the requirement to list other regulatory actions applies only to the promulgating agency or other agencies. The amendment clarifies that this list must include related regulatory actions by any other Federal agency. Earlier this year, the GAO delivered to Congress its third annual report on duplication in government programs, identifying 17 specific areas of fragmentation, overlap, and duplication where multiple programs and activities are creating inefficiencies. Unfortunately, these inefficiencies result in regulatory duplication, heaping needless costs and paperwork on businesses at a time when our economy continues to struggle enough already. A group run by former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin recently compiled information on regulations in the specific problem areas identified by the GAO, using the government database contained by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.…”