Mike Pence: “I had two countervailing experiences today. One was to travel to the botanical gardens here on the Capitol Mall and meet…”

“I had two countervailing experiences today. One was to travel to the botanical gardens here on the Capitol Mall and meet with the extraordinary personnel of the Environmental Protection Agency that are overseeing the decontamination at the Hart Senate Office Building and in the offices of the three Members of Congress who have been affected by anthrax contamination. I witnessed then, as I have witnessed in days past, extraordinary professionalism and a deep commitment to creating an environment that is safe for us and for our staff. The EPA has earned a special place in my heart in the last week. But then I traveled just moments later, Mr. Speaker, across the street where I chaired the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight where I serve as chairman on the Committee on Small Business. It was there that we took a hard look at the inadequacy of regulatory analyses that agencies use to support rule-making. And the special emphasis regrettably, Mr. Speaker, was on one agency in particular that was singled out by witness after witness for its poor regulatory analyses, and that agency was the Environmental Protection Agency.”