Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about H.R. 899, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, which will be considered by the House later this week. I realize, Mr. Speaker, that this name doesn't come trippingly off the tongue, but it is an important piece of legislation. Every year, Federal agencies impose thousands of regulatory mandates on local governments and small businesses. Those mandates are often costly, stretching city and State budgets and making it harder for businesses in North Carolina and around the country to grow and add jobs. UMITA will force Washington to think much more carefully about regulatory costs before passing them on to small businesses and local governments. This bill will ensure that regulations are enacted only when the benefits to be gleaned by a rule outweigh the costs imposed by the rule. Ultimately, this bill is about transparency and accountability, something Democrats and Republicans can support with equal fervor. Mr. Speaker, I began the process of writing this legislation in 2007. Knowing that it takes a lot of creativity and hard work to pass legislation, I sat down with my staff to think about legislative ideas that could gain sufficient bipartisan support to be enacted. We started looking at the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, which cleared a Republican Congress before being signed by President Clinton. UMRA was a model for bipartisan legislating, so we looked to it for ideas.…”