John Tierney: “Mr. Chairman, I rise simply in support of the Kucinich amendment. For the life of me, having listened to this entire…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise simply in support of the Kucinich amendment. For the life of me, having listened to this entire debate on the amendment, I have not heard any real justification from the other side as to why they would not try to correct this bill and improve this bill by agreeing to accept the terms of the Kucinich amendment. I have listened for some time here. What we are talking about on one side is an alleged reduction of paperwork. I repeat what I said earlier in talking about the bill, that the bill would not reduce one single piece of paperwork. The real crux of this addresses the issue that when someone fails to file a piece of paperwork that speaks to the health and safety, what action would be taken. We all agree there should be some leeway for people who make innocent misfilings or failings to file. That is why the Kucinich amendment talks about the agency being able to look at the nature or seriousness of the alleged violation, whether or not there were good faith efforts to comply and other relevant factors, and in those instances where it is appropriate, to waive it; but not a carte blanche waiver, which in effect is a disincentive for some bad actors to not file papers. We are talking about a business community that by and large is full of good actors.”