Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for the time. I support his amendment. Agency guidance is a crucial part of our regulatory system--flexible because not legally binding, but needed so regulated entities can understand how best to comply with agency rules. Guidance, if it responds in a timely way to the regulated community's need for it, helps everything to function smoothly. But one thing that does not help is agency heel-dragging in the issuance of guidance as the regulated community comes up against legal or practical deadlines by which it needs to implement compliance measures. Too often agencies hurry up and wait to produce needed guidance, then tell those who waited long and hard for it to hurry up and respond, pronto. That can leave very little time for the regulated community to act before deadlines hit. To solve this problem, the amendment offers a simple but much-needed solution. It requires that, within ``good-guidance'' guidelines to be issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under the bill, there be guidelines for agencies generally to assure at least 90 days for regulated entities to institute measures consistent with newly issued guidelines. I support the amendment.”