Jodey Arrington: “The regulatory state in America is alive and well. I wish I could say as much for our economy and our personal freedoms…”

“The regulatory state in America is alive and well. I wish I could say as much for our economy and our personal freedoms, but I believe that that is about to change thanks in large part to the recent Presidential election. Over the last 8 years, we have replaced a free enterprise system with a regulatory bureaucracy that has crushed our economy, stifled our innovation, and quashed the great American spirit. America has never seen such an onslaught of abusive and burdensome actions from the fourth branch of government. The cumulative cost of regulations on our American economy is almost $2 trillion. It costs almost $60 billion just to enforce all the regulations on the books. Let me give you, though, an example of a regulation that is far worse in its effects than just simply economic burden or burden on our people. Today, I stand with my friend and great American hero, Sam Johnson, in strong support of H.J. Res. 40 to strike down the Obama administration's last-ditch effort to infringe upon our Second Amendment rights. In the 11th hour, the Obama administration quietly sneaked in a rule that threatens to deny certain Social Security beneficiaries their right to purchase a firearm. Federal law makes it a crime already to possess a firearm if an individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.…”