[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 26 (Thursday, March 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, first, I want to commend Senator 
Simpson from Wyoming for his amendment in the current debate. I am a 
cosponsor of it. I have not spoken on it directly this morning because 
last evening there was unanimous consent on my amendment that dealt 
with a sense of the Senate to call on the U.S. Postal Service to cease 
and desist from its audits and intimidating procedures they have used 
on private businesses with regard to the use of private carriers.
  But this morning, I want to visit something we hear more and more 
about in this Capital City and that is unfunded mandates.
  I voted against the proposal last year under the title of motor 
voter, and I warned at the time that it was an unfunded mandate and it 
was going to cause consternation in many of our States.
  Our general assembly in Georgia has just concluded its session and, 
indeed, as was predicted, they have been confronted with a Federal 
order, edict, mandate which has caused them to spend millions of 
dollars to solve a nonexistent problem.
  I read from the Atlanta Journal Constitution an editorial. It says:

       The so-called ``motor voter'' bill in the Georgia House is 
     in many ways a sparkling example of the sort of junk laws 
     that afflict society today. Its fundamental assumptions are 
     flat wrong, it won't do anybody any good, and because it was 
     forced on the State by Congress without any funding, it will 
     cost the State's taxpayers several million dollars.

  But it has to be passed because not to do so puts a bludgeon in the 
hands of the Federal Government. This is a classic example of the 
activity that should come to a stop in this Nation's Capital.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print this editorial in the 
Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the editorial was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       [From the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Feb. 14, 1994]

                    Motor Voter Is Bad, But Pass It

       Most of the time, if there are lots of things wrong with a 
     piece of legislation and only one thing in its favor, the 
     natural conclusion is that it ought to be defeated. There 
     are, however, rare exceptions.
       The so-called ``motor voter'' bill in the Georgia House is 
     in many ways a sparkling example of the sort of junk laws 
     that afflict society today. Its fundamental assumptions are 
     flat wrong, it won't do anybody any good, and because it was 
     forced on the state by Congress without any funding, it will 
     cost the state's taxpayers several million dollars. But it 
     will have to be passed.
       Why? Because the congressional action makes it essentially 
     a done deal. If Georgia doesn't go along with the charade, 
     then voter registration procedures for federal and state 
     elections would be different, and the legality of some 
     elections could be challenged. Meanwhile the state would have 
     to shell out more money to fight lawsuits than it would cost 
     to implement the new system--and almost certainly lose in the 
     end anyway.
       We resent all these sorts of ``unfunded mandates'' Congress 
     keeps pushing on the states and their taxpayers. We resent 
     them even more when they are no more than posturing for 
     political constituencies, showboating measures that 
     accomplish nothing. No one seriously thinks that voter 
     participation will be meaningfully increased by allowing 
     registration when a citizen gets a driver's license; in most 
     states where that has been implemented, turnout for elections 
     has actually gone down.
       But, despite all the arguments against the bill, it's 
     futile to fight it now. The best thing states can do is pass 
     it, then hope whatever new voters are registered around the 
     country will elect smarter people to Congress.

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, on January 21 of this year, I received 
a letter from the speaker of the house, signed by the majority leader, 
the chairman of the ways and means committee, the chairman of the rules 
committee, and the chairman of the human relations and aging committee, 
the chairman of the university system, the chairman of appropriations, 
the chairman of state institutions and property, chairman of 
governmental affairs, speaker pro tempore.
  I will not share the entire letter, but I will ask that it be printed 
in the Record.
  On the first page, the speaker of the house, the longest standing 
speaker in the United States, says:

       In sum, Georgia will attempt to comply with the National 
     Voter Registration Act, but we are not happy with unfunded 
     Federal mandates in this or any other area. If the Congress 
     wants programs to be implemented, then Congress should fund 
     such programs accordingly.

  I could not agree more with these distinguished gentlemen. It is 
wrong for one government to impose an edict and instruct another 
government to fund its priorities, and the Congress is not accountable 
for what has to be done because of a law passed; someone else is. Any 
time we have a situation where one body can pass laws and order another 
to be accountable for them, we are developing a major problem and a 
constitutional crisis.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print the letter from the 
speaker of the House of Representatives of Georgia in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Atlanta, GA, January 21, 1994.
     Hon. Paul Coverdell,
     Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Coverdell: The Georgia General Assembly is now 
     confronted with the need to fund and implement the provisions 
     of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). Due to 
     the fact that Georgia presently has none of the forms of 
     registration required by the NVRA, this Act imposes a 
     significant burden on the state, both as a practical matter 
     and as a financial matter.
       We must be in compliance with the NVRA by January 1, 1995. 
     This leaves only the remaining months of this year to fund 
     and develop a system to meet the mandate of the NVRA. 
     Consequently, the cost of implementing the NVRA is high since 
     all of our efforts must be focused into a short period of 
     time. We anticipate that compliance may cost well over $8 
     million at a time when our state treasuries are not stocked 
     with funds for current obligations, much less new programs.
       While the goals of the NVRA may be laudable, it appears to 
     us that the failure of the Congress to fund this legislation 
     is inexcusable. If Congress feels that the NVRA is a good 
     idea, then it is worth funding. The NVRA came to us with no 
     funding whatsoever.
       We continue to receive complaints at the state level from 
     our counties and cities about the evils of unfunded mandates 
     and we are attempting to respond to those concerns. Congress 
     would do well to rein in further unfunded mandates to the 
     states. In fact, it is not too late for Congress to 
     appropriate funds to cover the costs of implementing this Act 
     or to relieve some of the costs of the Act. We ask that you 
     consider such action as soon as possible.
       In sum, Georgia will attempt to comply with the NVRA, but 
     we are not happy with unfunded federal mandates in this or 
     any other area. If the Congress wants programs to be 
     implemented, then Congress should fund such programs 
     accordingly.
           Sincerely,
       House Budget Sub-Committee Members:
         Thomas B. Murphy, Speaker; Larry Walker, Majority Leader; 
           Thomas B. Buck, Chairman, Ways & Means; William J. 
           (Bill) Lee, Chairman, Rules; David Lucas, Chairman, 
           Human Relations & Aging; Calvin Smyre, Chairman, 
           University System; Terry Coleman, Chairman, 
           Appropriations; Carlton Colwell, Chairman, State 
           Institutions & Property; Bob Homes, Chairman, 
           Governmental Affairs; Jack Connell, Speaker Pro Tem.

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, on February 24, I received a letter 
from the distinguished secretary of state of the State of Georgia. He 
says:

       As the State of Georgia undertakes the necessary steps to 
     implement the National Voter Registration Act, we are more 
     and more concerned about the cost of this federally imposed 
     mandate.

  At one time in the discussions of motor voter, to assuage the States, 
we said they would have lower-cost mail, third-class costs but that it 
would be treated as first-class mail. Now the Postal Department, which 
I talked about a little earlier, has told the States, ``No, that is not 
so.'' So they cannot use the lower-class mail because voter information 
would not be delivered on time. It could be 3 weeks or longer.
  So we have welshed, once again, on the burdens that are incumbent 
upon us to deal with these costs we have imposed on someone else.
  In this particular case, just this function of the motor voter bill 
will cost a quarter of a million dollars to the State of Georgia 
virtually every year.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the 
letter from the secretary of state for the State of Georgia.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                               Secretary of State,


                                           Elections Division,

                                   Atlanta, GA, February 24, 1994.
     Hon. Paul Coverdell,
     U.S. Senator, Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Coverdell: As the State of Georgia undertakes 
     the necessary steps to implement the National Voter 
     Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), we are more and more 
     concerned about the cost of this federally-imposed mandate.
       One section of the NVRA is especially troubling. In Section 
     8(h), the Congress amended Chapter 36 of Title 39 of the 
     United States Code to provide for reduced postal rates for 
     mailings under the NVRA. These reduced postal rates were 
     supposedly to be made available from the post office by 
     utilizing the nonprofit organization rate. The United States 
     Postal Service has taken the position that this section 
     provides that the states can utilize the nonprofit 
     organization rate and level of service, which is third-class 
     mail. Under the provisions of the NVRA, there are no mailings 
     which are contemplated to be handled under third-class mail. 
     All of the mailings under the NVRA must be handled by first-
     class mail. In addition, the Postal Service is phasing out 
     the nonprofit organization rate. This has therefore made 
     these supposedly reduced rates for mailings under the NVRA 
     illusory and of no use whatsoever.
       I request that you take whatever steps are necessary to 
     assist the states in funding the provisions of the NVRA by 
     making the reduced postal rates a reality. This could be done 
     very easily by requiring the Postal Service to develop a 
     reduced rate for first-class mail for all mailings which are 
     certified by the appropriate election official to be required 
     under the NVRA. This would permit substantial savings to the 
     states. If the rate were one-half of the current first-class 
     mail rate, the savings to the State of Georgia would be 
     projected at $250,000,000.00 each year. Please consider 
     taking the initiative to give us the assistance needed in 
     implementing this mandate.
       If you have any questions concerning this matter, please 
     feel free to contact me.
           Sincerely,
                                                   H. Jeff Lanier,
                               Director, State Elections Division.

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, we have had county commissioners in 
this State, we have had mayors visit our capital, school boards. They 
are all saying the same thing: ``You have to stop imposing mandates on 
local government for which you do not pay.''
  Currently, almost any local jurisdiction is spending about one-third 
of its property tax base trying to answer current mandates.
  We all talk about how onerous they are. But we keep passing them and 
they keep having an effect, as motor-voter did in the State of Georgia, 
costing the State millions of dollars.
  What is truly sad is that nothing of significant value is achieved. I 
have argued that if we are going to pass a Federal mandate, then there 
should be a compelling need for it. I would hope that some of the 
various provisions introduced in the Senate or the House will be 
implemented in the near term to slow this train down and stop this 
egregious behavior, this imposition of one branch of government on the 
other. As I saw these letters from leaders of my State, it infuriated 
me once again as to the unfair nature of what we continue to do in the 
Nation's Capitol.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition?

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