Rob Portman: “Last year, by a nearly two-thirds bipartisan majority, this House voted to support H.R. 3534, legislation nearly…”

“Last year, by a nearly two-thirds bipartisan majority, this House voted to support H.R. 3534, legislation nearly identical to the bill that we are talking about this morning, H.R. 350. It is based, as the gentleman from California just said, on a very simple concept. That is, that we want to provide more information and more accountability to Congress as it considers unfunded mandates, which are really hidden taxes, this time on the private sector. About 3 rac{1}{2} years ago, 394 Members of this House and 91 Senators voted to pass the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, also known as UMRA. UMRA ensured that for the first time ever, before the House voted on legislation, the House would have three things: One, new cost information on the public sector; that is, mandates on State and local government but also on the private sector, on the information side. And then, very importantly, with regard to the public sector mandates; that is, the mandates on State and local government, there would also be a separate debate on whether or not to impose the mandate and a vote.”