The certification is being abused, the 605(b) certification. Agencies are abusing that to try and get out of having to perform small business impact analyses that the RFA requires.
Robert Smith
The Public Record
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May 21, 2024
I think there are a couple of steps that I would recommend. First, agencies must be forced to consider the indirect costs of the regulations on small businesses.
— Robert Smith
Most widely reported
by number of sources- I rise today to speak about hate crimes legislation I introduced with Senator Kennedy last month. The Local Law Enforcement Act of 2001 would add new categories to current hate crimes legislation sending a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society. I would like to detail a heinous crime that occurred in my own home State of Oregon in 1995. A twenty-seven year old Stockton, California man murdered a Medford, OR couple, Roxanne Ellis, 53 and Michelle Abdill, 42. The women, who ran a property management business, disappeared December 4, 1995 after showing the man an apartment for rent. He shot them both in the head, and the bodies were left bound and gagged in a truck bed. The Stockton man later confessed, saying he targeted the women because they were lesbians, and he figured they wouldn't have families that would miss them. I believe that government's first duty is to defend its citizens, to defend them against the harms that come out of hate. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 is now a symbol that can become substance. I believe that by passing this legislation, we can change hearts and minds as well.211 sources2001govinfo.gov
- As a Member of the Senate high-tech task force, I believe that the R&D tax credit is essential to the technology community, and also to the pharmaceutical community. This credit encourages investment in basic research that, over the long term, can lead to the development of new, cheaper, and better technology products and services. The research and development is certainly essential for long-term economic growth. Innovations in science and technology has fueled the massive economic expansion we have witnessed over the course of the 20th century. These achievements have improved the standard of living for nearly every American. Simply put, the research tax credit is an investment in economic growth, new jobs, and the important new products and processes that we need in our lives. The R&D tax credit must be made permanent. This credit, which was originally enacted in 1981, has only been temporarily extended 10 times. Permanent extension is long overdue. Because this vital credit isn't permanent, it offers businesses less value than it should.2 sources2001govinfo.gov
Agencies should be forced to consider all costs along with benefits of each rule.
I think we get the appropriate communities together to ask some basic questions--what do you need? And how can we collect it and report it?
there should be a linkage between U.S. aid, military aid, and religious freedom
I rise today, on behalf of my State of Oregon, to express our deepest gratitude for the New Zealanders who put their lives on the line this last summer in fighting the ravenous wildfires experienced in the West. Even as the rains of fall…
I am angry to say that we are no closer to having a prescription drug program for our seniors. When the Senate debated the addition of a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program in July, there was clear agreement that such a…
I would like to raise another issue today which has a major impact on older and disabled Americans and their families, nursing homes. Under current law, Medicare rates for seniors in nursing homes were reduced by ten percent as of October…
Frankly, I do not believe we planned this economy. I think Congresses and Presidents are given too much credit and blame for the free-market system. I think the people at home could care less about all the fingerpointing. In my view, now…
I rise to salute a World War II veteran from my home State of Oregon. Today, I want to recognize the efforts of August F. "Gus" Smoorenburg, a member of the European resistance fighters who lived and struggled in Nazi occupied territories…
the events of the past 11 months have forced every American to become more vigilant against the threats to our nation's security. I want to commend the chairman, Senator Inouye, and the ranking member, Senator Stevens, for bringing to the…
I say to the American people, what few may be up this morning watching these proceedings, that this is probably our last best chance to pass prescription drugs in the 107th Congress, and I think it is critical we do so. I am optimistic we…
each day I have detailed in the Senate Record another hate crime. Again, these are always violent, they are always sickening, but they always happen to an American citizen. These citizens are not different from you and me. They are…
As I contemplate the conclusion of this debate, my own judgment is that it has been one of the poorer debates I have witnessed in the Senate. Until this moment, there has been very little participation in it. Frankly, I find that…
It has the same interest in defending the American people regardless of their minority, their race, religion, their culture, their sexual orientation, their disability, their agenda. It seems to me the government's business is not to pick…
I agree with the Senator. We are in a war on terrorism in this world. It is entirely appropriate to focus on the war on terrorism at home. President Bush has proposed a more seamless process by which we backstop as a Federal Government…
I have every day put into the Congressional Record the details of a hate crime. These are always violent, they are always sickening, but they also happen to an American citizen. They happen sometimes because the victim is black, gay…
Mr. President, a lot of Members went the route of the managers' amendment because we like to accommodate the requests of our appropriators, and to be accommodating to them we did not bring it up. Frankly, I have just learned a lesson here…
I am pleased to join him in this amendment he has offered in the spirit of no child being left behind. It is obvious to anyone that the effect of the recession in many of the States, my own included, is that education is suffering…
I am committed to a resolution of this situation that enables the Steens Mountain running camp to continue its historic operations on the mountain.
in the 106th Congress, we were the sponsors of the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000, a landmark piece of legislation to enhance the protection of the Steens Mountain area in southern Oregon, while…
The Gerald B.H. Solomon Freedom Consolidation Act reaffirms the Senate's support for continued enlargement of NATO, without naming any names of who should receive an invitation to join. It also demonstrates that extending security and…
I would like to read briefly a couple of paragraphs from his article because I think they encapsulate why it is so important that America not waiver at this critical hour. Writes Mr. Will: Today many people say that the Arabs and their…
I am privileged to stand on the Senate floor today with my colleague from Connecticut, Senator Lieberman, as a cosponsor of this amendment. He and I stand here against the wishes of the administration that we--the Congress, and…





