[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Chairman, during rollcall vote No. 166, an 
amendment on H.R. 2442, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, 
I would have voted ``no.''


                    amendment offered by mr. walker

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Walker: After section 129, add the 
     following new section:
       Sec. 130. The Administrator may, in consultation with and 
     approval of other Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the 
     matters involved, waive Federal regulations which interfere 
     with economic development.


                             point of order

  Mr. WISE. Mr. Chairman, I have a point of order.
  Mr. CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will state his point of order.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order against the 
amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker] as it 
violates clause 7 of rule XVI. That rule requires that amendments to 
the text be germane to the subject matter contained therein.
  Mr. Chairman, the gentleman's amendment would require the 
Administrator of the Economic Development Administration to waive 
Federal regulations; that is, all Federal regulations such as the Clean 
Air Act, et cetera, and to do so in consultation with and approval of 
other Federal agencies.
  There is nothing in the base text of the bill that speaks to this 
issue, Mr. Chairman, and, in addition, the amendment goes well beyond 
the scope of the bill and the current regulatory responsibilities of 
the Economic Development Administration.
  As such, Mr. Chairman, the amendment is not germane to the base text, 
and I insist upon my point of order.
  The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker] wish 
to be heard on his point of order?
  Mr. WALKER. I do, Mr. Chairman.
  The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Walker].
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, the bill before us is a very, very broad 
bill with regard to economic development going to the entire economy of 
the United States as described in the section of the bill delineating 
the coverage, and so in this case the coverage is very broad.

                              {time}  1320

  All this particular amendment does is to assure that the 
Administrator, in conjunction with other Federal agencies with 
jurisdiction over the matters involved, may waive Federal regulations 
that interfere with economic development. So it is only regulations; it 
does not change law in any way. It is all matters within the 
jurisdiction of the administration. It is within the Administrator's 
duties because it relates only to economic development, and ``economic 
development'' would be defined as the very broad-based issues that are 
raised in the original bill. So I believe that there is jurisdiction 
here.
  Beyond that, under the amendment the Administrator could not act 
without the agreement of the other Federal agencies. So there is 
nothing in the amendment saying that something could be changed unless 
the other Federal agencies agreed with it. But what it would do is 
allow a one-stop shopping center in the Federal Government for those 
who have regulatory problems to get those regulatory problems waived.
  So I do believe the amendment is germane, Mr. Chairman, and I urge 
the Chair to approve the offering of the amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] wish 
to be heard further on the point of order?
  Mr. WISE. Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
  To reply further, my subcommittee will be delighted to know that our 
jurisdiction goes to the entire economy of the United States. Actually, 
the bill itself goes only to the Economic Development Administration. 
The amendment goes well beyond the scope of this bill, affecting all 
Federal interests.
  For the reasons I have stated both here and in my previous remarks, 
Mr. Chairman, I believe the amendment is not germane, and I insist 
further on my point of order.
  The CHAIRMAN (Mr. Torres). The Chair is prepared to rule on the point 
of order.
  The Chair would state that the amendment seeks to accomplish the 
waiver of any Federal regulation promulgated under any Federal law 
which might have the effect of interfering with economic development. 
As such, the amendment may involve actions by agencies and change of 
regulations pursuant to laws not within the jurisdiction of the 
reporting committees and beyond the purview of the Economic Development 
Administration.
  Therefore, the Chair sustains the point of order.


                    amendment offered by mr. walker

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, I offer my amendment number 2.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Walker: After Section 129, add the 
     following new section:

     SEC. 130. REGULATORY RELIEF.

       The Administrator shall, upon petition from an entity 
     impacted adversely by federal regulations on matters of 
     economic development as described in this Act, notify the 
     departments and agencies involved with promulgating and 
     administering those regulations and suggest to those 
     departments and agencies that regulations be waived which 
     interfere with economic development. Nothing in this section 
     shall affect the ability of the Administrator to carry out 
     his duties otherwise provided by law.

  Mr. WALKER (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, one of the things that really does get in 
the way of economic development in this country is the myriad of 
regulations that have been written at the Federal, State, and local 
level which take the power out of the hands of entrepreneurs to create 
an economy and create jobs.
  This is an attempt in this amendment to assure that there is a place 
to come in the Federal Government to get some relief from Federal 
regulations. Essentially, this amendment does not go as far as the one 
that was just ruled out of order because it does not give the 
Administrator the ability to waive Federal regulations that are getting 
in the way of economic development. That would be preferable because it 
would be of tremendous help. Where there is an individual regulation 
that may have been written for all the right reasons and may have 
general applicability and be a good thing, but where the specific 
applicability of it is interfering with the ability to create jobs, 
then the Administrator would be able to waive that. This amendment does 
not go that far.
  What it does do is it creates an advocate for regulatory relief 
within the Federal Government. At the present time there is no place 
where communities can come, where businesses can come, or where 
individuals can come within the Federal Government to seek to have 
regulatory relief.
  With this amendment, we would create in the Office of the 
Administrator of EDA a place where you could get some help, because 
what this amendment says is, if you feel that regulations of the 
Federal Government are adversely impacting on your ability to create 
jobs or to pursue economic development, you can now come to the 
Administrator; you would petition him, and he would go to the 
individual agencies involved, notify them of your problem, and also 
suggest to them that the regulations which interfere with economic 
development be waived. So you have now created a place in Government of 
an advocate for economic development, and we would begin to weigh the 
two things, I think, on a more rational basis. Instead of simply having 
regulations out there that no one can get to, you would now have 
someone within the Government saying that the creation of jobs here is 
an important thing and, therefore, we ought to look at the regulatory 
impact that this individual or this entity has about the way the 
regulations are stopping economic development.

  I think this provides at least a piece of regulatory relief. It does 
not get nearly as far as most of us would like to go, but it is a way 
of moving toward regulatory relief and assuring for the most time that 
we would have an advocate within the Government for stopping 
regulations which interfere with the ability to create jobs.
  This is the kind of thing middle class America is looking for. Middle 
class America wants to be assured that their Government is not just 
creating laws and regulations that wipe out their ability to get jobs. 
In this case we will have created now an advocate for middle class 
America in terms of having the jobs created if Federal regulations have 
to be gotten out of the way in order for those jobs to be provided.
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. WALKER. I yield to the gentleman from Missouri.
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Chairman, I think the gentleman has offered here a very, very 
efficacious amendment, one that moved us in the right direction.
  One of the complaints that I hear most often as people are 
contemplating economic development and as communities are contemplating 
economic development is about the very obstacles that the Federal 
Government itself presents. If this amendment, as I read it and 
understand it, will move us to a position where we will have an 
opportunity to at least talk about resolving some of the conflicts that 
the Feds present as we try to develop economically, this amendment will 
have rendered a very great service.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. 
Emerson]. He helps make my point, because it is extremely important to 
recognize that if someone out in the country would have a complaint of 
regulatory problems, the Administrator under this amendment would have 
to go to bat for that person. So for the first time we would have an 
ability for the country to have some impact in Washington at the moment 
they ran into major regulatory problems.
  Mr. Chairman, I think that is something that has been looked for by 
employers, whether they be public or private employers, across the 
country.
  Ms. MOLINARI. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  Mr. Chairman, I would just briefly like to rise in support of this 
amendment. In fact, there is strong precedent for this type of 
decisionmaking to proceed now on the Federal level.
  I have right here a book that has been issued by the U.S. Department 
of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture 
called ``Building Communities Together, Empowerment Zones and 
Enterprise Communities Application Guide.''
  In fact, in one chapter it states under ``Overcoming Federal 
Barriers'' the following:

       A primary goal of this initiative is to review the 
     commitment to cooperation among the Federal Government, 
     States, and localities.
       To accomplish this goal we will work with all communities 
     that have submitted a strategic plan for change, even if they 
     do not receive Empowerment Zones or Enterprise Community 
     designation.

  The strategic point of this paragraph, though, reads as follows: ``We 
will strive to overcome programmatic, regulatory, and statutory 
impediments to encourage more effective economic, human, physical, 
environmental, and community development activities.''
  So I think the gentleman's amendment relative to the Economic 
Development Agency is very consistent with movements that are taking 
place throughout the Federal Government, and I thank the gentleman for 
offering this very valuable amendment to plug a hole and initiate a 
very important discussion on the reauthorization of the EDA.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of 
words.
  Mr. Chairman, this matter was presented to me just a short time ago. 
Upon reviewing the material contained in this second amendment offered 
by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker], I want to announce 
that our side has no objection, and I would ask that we move to a vote 
on the amendment. We will accept the amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Walker].
  The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the ayes 
appeared to have it.


                             recorded vote

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 410, 
noes 10, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 167]

                               AYES--410

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allard
     Andrews (ME)
     Andrews (NJ)
     Andrews (TX)
     Archer
     Armey
     Bacchus (FL)
     Bachus (AL)
     Baesler
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barca
     Barcia
     Barlow
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bateman
     Beilenson
     Bentley
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Brooks
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Bunning
     Burton
     Buyer
     Byrne
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canady
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carr
     Castle
     Chapman
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clinger
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coleman
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Coppersmith
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Danner
     Darden
     de la Garza
     de Lugo (VI)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Dellums
     Derrick
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dixon
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Durbin
     Edwards (CA)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Faleomavaega (AS)
     Farr
     Fawell
     Fazio
     Fields (LA)
     Fields (TX)
     Filner
     Fingerhut
     Fish
     Ford (MI)
     Ford (TN)
     Fowler
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frost
     Furse
     Gallegly
     Gallo
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Geren
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gingrich
     Glickman
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Grams
     Green
     Greenwood
     Gunderson
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamburg
     Hamilton
     Hancock
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hastert
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Hefley
     Hefner
     Herger
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hobson
     Hochbrueckner
     Hoekstra
     Hoke
     Holden
     Horn
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Huffington
     Hughes
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hutto
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Inhofe
     Inslee
     Istook
     Jacobs
     Jefferson
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Johnston
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kennedy
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klein
     Klink
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kopetski
     Kreidler
     Kyl
     LaFalce
     Lambert
     Lancaster
     Lantos
     LaRocco
     Laughlin
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lehman
     Levin
     Levy
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (FL)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lightfoot
     Linder
     Lipinski
     Livingston
     Lloyd
     Long
     Lowey
     Machtley
     Maloney
     Mann
     Manton
     Manzullo
     Margolies-Mezvinsky
     Markey
     Martinez
     Matsui
     Mazzoli
     McCandless
     McCloskey
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McCurdy
     McDade
     McHale
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McKeon
     McMillan
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Menendez
     Meyers
     Mfume
     Mica
     Michel
     Miller (CA)
     Miller (FL)
     Mineta
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Molinari
     Mollohan
     Montgomery
     Moorhead
     Moran
     Morella
     Murphy
     Murtha
     Myers
     Neal (MA)
     Neal (NC)
     Norton (DC)
     Nussle
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Paxon
     Payne (NJ)
     Payne (VA)
     Pelosi
     Penny
     Peterson (FL)
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Pickett
     Pickle
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Portman
     Poshard
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quillen
     Quinn
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Ravenel
     Reed
     Regula
     Reynolds
     Richardson
     Roberts
     Roemer
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Romero-Barcelo (PR)
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rose
     Rostenkowski
     Roth
     Roukema
     Rowland
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Sanders
     Sangmeister
     Santorum
     Sarpalius
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schaefer
     Schenk
     Schiff
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shepherd
     Shuster
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slattery
     Slaughter
     Smith (IA)
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (OR)
     Smith (TX)
     Snowe
     Solomon
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Strickland
     Studds
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sundquist
     Swett
     Swift
     Synar
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Tejeda
     Thomas (CA)
     Thomas (WY)
     Thompson
     Thornton
     Thurman
     Torkildsen
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Tucker
     Unsoeld
     Upton
     Valentine
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Volkmer
     Vucanovich
     Walker
     Walsh
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weldon
     Wheat
     Williams
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wyden
     Wynn
     Yates
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Zeliff
     Zimmer

                                NOES--10

     Applegate
     Engel
     Foglietta
     Frank (MA)
     Gonzalez
     McKinney
     Nadler
     Oberstar
     Sabo
     Stark

                             NOT VOTING--17

     Barrett (WI)
     Becerra
     Blackwell
     Cunningham
     Dingell
     Flake
     Grandy
     Hoagland
     McDermott
     Meek
     Parker
     Porter
     Ridge
     Sharp
     Underwood (GU)
     Washington
     Whitten

                              {time}  1350

  Messrs. GIBBONS, LEVIN, and SWIFT changed their vote from ``no'' to 
``aye.''
  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

                          ____________________