Virginia Foxx: “I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill. Each year…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill. Each year, Washington imposes thousands of pages of rules and regulations on America's private sector employers, as well as State and local governments. Buried in those pages are costly Federal mandates that make it harder for businesses to hire and cash-strapped States, counties, and cities to serve their citizens. There are some who may not understand why a bill to improve the regulatory process is also a bill about jobs. As a former small business owner, I understand firsthand the concerns job creators have about how lengthy, confusing rules affect their ability to conduct business and provide jobs and opportunities to their employees. That is why I introduced H.R. 899, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, which we call UMITA, and am glad to see it included in H.R. 4, the Jobs for America Act. The bill builds upon the bipartisan 1995 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, also known as UMRA, and will ensure awareness and public disclosure of the cost--in dollars and jobs--that Federal dictates pose to the economy and local governments. H.R. 899, as included in H.R. 4, does not seek to prevent the Federal Government from regulating. Rather, it seeks to ensure that its regulations are deliberative and economically defensible.…”