Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. One problem in rulemaking is the practice of agencies to negotiate regulations behind closed doors with a few interested parties, then propose and adopt a predetermined rule. To help cure this problem, the bill requires advanced notice of major and high-impact rules that agencies may propose. These are the rules that cost $100 million or $1 billion or more respectively. The advance notice requirement ensures that those who bear the costs of these high-cost regulations have an opportunity to shape agency decisions before they become entrenched in predetermined rulemaking proposals. It also dramatically increases the transparency of the most important agency rulemakings; and, of course, if emergency rules were needed, advance notice may be waived. The amendment, on the other hand, makes advance notice discretionary, not mandatory, with the agencies. That guarantees that advance notice will rarely be used. It eliminates much needed transparency, and it only helps those who negotiate rules behind closed doors, then ram deals through the rulemaking process, ignoring public comment. The amendment may arise from a concern that advance notice not unduly slow down emergency rules. If that is the case, there is no need for concern. Like the existing Administrative Procedure Act, the bill allows agencies to issue emergency rules before they complete ordinary procedure. I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment. It hurts the bill.…”