On the recordJune 17, 2013
I want to thank my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for recognizing me and for leading this Republican freshman class Special Order on the need for regulatory reform. I also want to commend him and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) for their initiative in creating the Freshman Regulatory Reform Working Group, of which I am pleased to be a member. A recent editorial written by George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley declared that: Our carefully constructed system of checks and balances is being negated by the rise of a fourth branch, an administrative state of sprawling departments and agencies that govern with increasing autonomy and decreasing transparency. The voice of the American people is marginalized when this so-called fourth state of government, our Federal agencies, fail to follow the wishes of their elected representatives or make policy in the absence of direction by Congress. And the American people are paying the price of this regulatory maze created by this unelected government. For example, the Heritage Foundation has found that annual regulatory costs increased by more than $23.5 billion during President Obama's fourth year in office. The total cost of regulations during the President's first term were nearly $70 billion, a level unmatched by any previous administration. It's time to unshackle America from the stranglehold these regulations have on our economy. I again want to thank Mr. Collins and Mr.…
