On the recordJanuary 13, 2015
Let me thank the chairman and rise to support the Jackson Lee amendment with a little journey down memory lane of just a few days ago. Just a few days ago in northern Nigeria, a heinous terrorist group by the name of Boko Haram killed 2,000 people. Pillaging and killing has been their mantra, their definition. A few days before that, we watched in horror as three terrorists killed 17 people in the nation state of France, our ally for many, many, many years--our partner, if you will, in the virtues of liberty and democracy. My amendment speaks to the diminishing impact that this present legislation would have on the security of our Nation. My amendment simply asks that those issues dealing with Homeland Security be exempted from this rule. The rule itself causes there to be some 70 particulars that have to be met when rulemaking begins. Can you imagine subjecting national security to that kind of criteria? As indicated, this bill modifies a Federal regulatory or rulemaking process by codifying many requirements included in Presidential executive orders and requiring agencies to consider numerous new criteria when issuing rules, including alternatives to any rule. We mentioned that in my earlier discussion. My amendment would simply exempt from the bill's congressional approval requirement any rule promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security.…
