Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes. I realize some people want to close their eyes and close their ears so they don't see or hear the facts. There's an old adage that none are so blind as those who don't want to see the wisdom of the facts. Mr. Chairman, despite the sound and fury that we've heard, let me repeat a fact; and the fact I want to repeat is this: that the bill always allows agencies to meet statutory objectives. If, for example, only one rulemaking alternative meets statutory objectives, the agency may adopt that alternative, even if its cost exceeds its benefits. The bill generally requires agencies to adopt the least costly alternative that meets statutory objectives if more than one alternative meets those objectives. Agencies may adopt more costly alternatives to protect public health, safety and welfare, including workers' safety, however, if the benefits of the more costly alternative justify their costs, and the agency is acting to protect the interest of public health, safety or welfare that are within the scope of the statutory provisions that authorize the rulemaking. As a result, many workforce safety, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other public health, safety and welfare regulations on the books still could have been adopted under the bill, even if they were not the least costly alternatives.…”