[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S749-S750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise today to address two matters.
  First, Mr. President, to let you and my other colleagues in the U.S. 
Senate know how honored I am to be a part of this noble institution and 
how much I look forward to working with each of you in conducting what 
Senator Howard Baker has called ``the business of the people.''
  Second, I want to take a moment to address the issue of unfunded 
Federal mandates, and specifically the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995.
  As I look around this great body I realize that I am one of the very 
few Members who has come directly to the Senate from the private sector 
with no previous ties to Washington, DC or, for that matter, politics. 
The people of Tennessee elected me as a true citizen legislator--to 
come to Washington for a period of time with a mission to accomplish 
and then return to Tennessee to live under the laws I helped pass. As a 
recently elected citizen legislator, I carry a very distinct advantage: 
a closeness to the people, a commonality of interest with real people 
with real jobs, and an immediate understanding of the message of 
November 8.
  During the last year, I have traveled to most all of the 95 counties 
in my 
 [[Page S750]] home State of Tennessee--from Memphis to Mountain City--
listening to the thoughts and concerns of private citizens and local 
officials. Coming directly from the private sector, I heard their 
message in the clearest possible terms, unfettered by the preconceived 
notions and prejudices of Washington.
  And their message was: ``Change the direction of the country. Get the 
Federal Government off our backs, out of our pockets, and off our land. 
The arrogance of Washington is stifling us, and we are capable of 
making our own decisions.'' A simple, crystal clear message.
  Mr. President, this is the message I bring to Washington. And there 
is no better example of the Federal Government's arrogance and unwanted 
meddling than the unfunded Federal mandates. As our majority leader so 
eloquently pointed out in his opening remarks of the 104th Congress, 
the 10th amendment provides that powers not delegated to the United 
States nor prohibited to the States are reserved to the States or to 
the people. Yet, through unfunded mandates, the Congress has forced its 
will upon the people by requiring State and local governments to pay 
for legislation over which they have no control. The result of these 
mandates is that local governments are forced to abandon their own 
priorities, to offer fewer services to the public, and to ultimately 
charge higher taxes and utility rates.
  In my home State of Tennessee, for example, local officials from the 
city of Knoxville determined that they would have had an additional $11 
million to spend on local priorities in the absence of 10 unfunded 
Federal mandates. According to their estimates, Knoxville could have 
spent $3.5 million for police and crime prevention were it not for 
these unfunded Federal mandates. Part of this money would have funded 
approximately 60 new police officers.
  Examples such as these have been cited from cities across this 
country, from across America. It is essentially a problem of taxation 
without representation. That injustice helped bring about one 
revolution about 200 years ago, and I think on November 8 we saw 
another such revolution. The people have demanded that we put an end to 
such practice. The State and local battle cry, ``no money, no 
mandates,'' has reached a fever pitch.
  The test of any government is its responsiveness to its citizens. The 
solution to the problem of unfunded mandates is to require Congress to 
pay for any mandate it places on State and local governments.
  Mr. President, I believe that Senate bill No. 1, the Unfunded Mandate 
Reform Act of 1995, is a step in the right direction. It will be an 
effective but simple mechanism to curb the unfunded mandates that are 
strangling America's communities. Requiring Congress to pay for its 
mandates will merely require Congress to live in the real world. Like 
the rest of America, Congress will have to learn to balance budgets, to 
provide services efficiently, to prioritize, and to make tough spending 
decisions.
  For this reason, I have cosponsored the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act 
of 1995. I commend Senator Kempthorne for his leadership over the past 
2 years in raising the awareness of lawmakers and the American public 
regarding the unfunded mandate issue. As Mayor Victor Ashe, of 
Knoxville, TN, currently president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and 
a champion of this cause has said: ``This bill will begin to restore 
the partnership which the founders of the Nation intended to exist 
between the Federal Government and State and local governments.''
  However, Mr. President, I would be remiss if I did not say that there 
are aspects of this bill that can and should be improved. The bill has 
no affect on Congress unless the Congressional Budget Office first 
determines that a bill which contains an unfunded mandate will cost the 
State and local government more than $50 million over a single year. 
While I am sure much thought has been given to this threshold amount, 
and while I understand that increased demands will be placed on the 
CBO, I urge my colleagues to listen a little more closely to the will 
of the people. Their message was not to limit unfunded Federal 
mandates, it was to eliminate them. I urge my colleagues to give 
serious consideration to eliminating the $50 million threshold in the 
bill.
  The second provision of the bill which disturbs me is the provision 
that allows Congress to override the prohibition on unfunded Federal 
mandates with a simple majority vote in the Senate. In essence, what we 
give to the American people with one hand we potentially take away with 
the other. I urge that this provision be strengthened to require a 
supermajority of 60 votes to waive this legislation. Those two concerns 
notwithstanding, I believe this bill is a good step in the right 
direction.
  Mr. President, the directive of November 8 is clear: A return to 
Federalism, the idea that power should be kept close to the people. I 
believe that the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, particularly if 
strengthened as I have urged, will go a long way toward saying to the 
American people that this body believes the people can and should be 
trusted with the power to make their own decisions. I urge my 
colleagues to strengthen and then pass this important piece of 
legislation as quickly as possible. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Texas [Mrs. Hutchison] is recognized to speak for up to 20 minutes.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to yield 5 minutes to my 
colleague from Idaho, after which I will then take no longer than 15 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Grams). Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Craig] is recognized.

                          ____________________