Political Quotes

“before I rise in support of an open rule for debate on H.R. 3310, I want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. McIntosh) for his efforts in not only developing the rule but also in developing an attempt at a bipartisan relationship on the underlying substance. Mr. McIntosh has certainly been open to the many discussions that we have had to try to improve the bill. During this process today, we are hopeful that we will continue to see the kind of give and take here that can produce a better bill and can enable us to move this bill successfully out of the House. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) and I will be offering an amendment with that in mind. In the meantime, as we go through this debate, I think Members of Congress need to look very carefully at the implication of this bill as it is currently formulated. It has been introduced under the title of paperwork reduction, yet it would have an enormous effect on the ability of Federal agencies to carry out and enforce the laws that have been passed by Congress. As it stands now, and I again say as it stands now, H.R. 3310 would grant mandatory waiver of civil fines to businesses that are first-time violators with a wide range of paperwork requirements. Mr. Speaker, this language has been reviewed carefully by law enforcement officials in the Department of Justice, and they have raised a number of troubling issues.…”