Political Quotes

“Mr. President, my amendment aims to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from entering into settlement agreements without seeking approval from State, county, and local governments that would be affected by the settlement. All too often, rather than writing and implementing environmental regulations in an open, transparent process, environmental regulations are implemented as the result of citizen suits that establish arbitrary timelines that force the agency to rush through the regulatory process. As a result, regulations that affect all sectors of the economy are implemented without following the proper administrative procedures. It is unfortunate, but legislating by lawsuit has become commonplace as agencies repeatedly miss deadlines and are challenged by citizen suits alleging improper agency action. A 2014 report by the Government Accountability Office found that legal mandates do influence an agency's selection of regulatory options. These lawsuits leave inadequate time for agencies to analyze the options available to them. As a result of this shortened timeline, agencies cannot do a proper analysis of proposed regulations. This leads to inadequate time for notice and comment. It keeps the citizens in the dark about economic impacts of significant regulations and does not allow for State and local governments to provide input regarding how these regulations will affect them. For example, in 2011, the U.S.…”