Ann Wagner: “For the past 8 years, President Barack Obama has used his pen and phone to create a fourth branch of government that…”

“For the past 8 years, President Barack Obama has used his pen and phone to create a fourth branch of government that overreaches through executive orders and Federal rules and regulations. But today is a new day--a day when this Congress begins to dismantle this fourth branch of government and drain the swamp in Washington. Through the entirety of this President's administration, Republicans have fought against out-of-control growth of Federal bureaucracy and rules and regulations that have suffocated the American economy. The last time I checked, the President's job was to enforce existing laws and work with the elected Members of Congress whose responsibility it is to pass laws as the people's representatives. Instead, I believe he has undermined not only our Constitution but also the American people through this executive power grab. It is time to get rid of the Washington-knows-best, top-down, one- size-fits-all rules like the EPA's waters of the U.S., the Clean Power Plan, the Department of Labor's overtime rule and restrictions on your retirement savings. These regulations have consequences, and what these bureaucrats do have, consequences. In 2015 alone, the Federal Government leveled 3,400 regulations on Americans. Those regulations cost us $1.9 trillion in lost productivity and growth--a cost of $15,000 per American household.…”