Steve Largent: “Mr. Speaker, one of the real problems that I see we face in this body is that we are consumed with so much business from…”

“Mr. Speaker, one of the real problems that I see we face in this body is that we are consumed with so much business from day-to-day that the institutional memory of the House of Representatives tends to be very short. And so, I hope to enter into a discourse here of a little history from 5 years ago about a bill that we passed overwhelmingly called the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. In 1995, the House decided to change the way Washington works with America's State houses and city halls. The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act was passed to protect hard-working State and local officials from the bullies in Washington, D.C. Its sponsors stood on this floor and said, ``For too long, Congress has imposed its own agenda on State and local governments without taking responsibility for the costs.'' The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act passed this House by a vote of 394-28. Several Members who have introduced the bill that is currently before us were, in fact, cosponsors of the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. Today we are scheduled to trample this law by passing a Federal minimum wage increase. Mr. Speaker, we need to keep our promise to America's State and local officials. By voting against their own State and local officials, the Members are telling them, ``I know more than you do.'' I want to be able to look my State and local officials square in the eye and tell them that I trust them.”