Rob Bishop: “I thank you for the time. Mr. Speaker, I will apologize in advance for actually talking on topic here. In 1791, the…”

“I thank you for the time. Mr. Speaker, I will apologize in advance for actually talking on topic here. In 1791, the Second Session of Congress, John Page was a Congressman from Virginia, and he objected to his peers who wanted to leave and let the designation of postal routes be left to the President. They trusted the President, justifiably, but John Page threatened his colleagues by saying that if we do so he will move to adjourn and leave all the objects of legislation to the President's sole consideration and direction. {time} 1310 Now, the issue at hand back in 1791 was not necessarily what roads and routes should be taken, even though they did have an economic impact. The issue was who should designate those routes because every rule and regulation is, by definition, a legislative function. It is not a function of the administration that should be given to the President or the bureaucracies that are created because of it. It is a congressional function. But we do not take the time to make the details in our particular piece of legislation. When we simply ask in our legislation that a Secretary in a department shall have the power to write rules and regulations and then leave it at that, we are abrogating our responsibility. ``Country of origin'' labeling sounded like a great idea. We should know if we are buying American beef.…”