Sean Patrick Maloney: “I rise to state my reluctant opposition to H.R. 5, the Unfunded Mandates Relief Act. I am reluctant to oppose H.R. 5…”

“I rise to state my reluctant opposition to H.R. 5, the Unfunded Mandates Relief Act. I am reluctant to oppose H.R. 5 because I think that its basic purpose is sound and important. Almost everyone in this body agrees that something must be done about the increasing burdens that the Federal Government places upon the States and local governments. Let there be no mistake--I support unfunded mandates reform legislation. I proudly voted for a well-crafted, bipartisan bill in the last Congress, and I voted for the substitute to H.R. 5 offered by Representative Moran today. Those efforts were designed to allow Congress to make informed decisions about the burdens the Federal Government places on the States. They required the House to be fully informed about those costs before passing legislation. It is unfortunate therefore that H.R. 5 has so many serious problems, starting with the abuse of the legislative process which brought this bill to the floor.”