[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 18, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning with concern on the much-
needed debate on unfunded mandates that is being conducted by the 
Republican leadership. Everyone agrees in principle that mandates 
should be paid for. But before we leap, let us look.
  I just returned from the California floods. All the talk was about 
help to bail out the families affected by those floods. When the water 
recedes, that talk will shift to responsibility. Flood prevention is 
dependent upon mandates. Think about it, flood plain zoning, flood 
plain mapping, flood plain building standards.
  The Republicans are more interested in having a political victory in 
the shortest time possible than in good law. We should take time in 
this session, not the first 8 days, to talk about how the unfunded 
mandates are going to be carried out. Let us not go too fast, too far, 
too soon. Allow the public, not just the politicians, to be involved in 
the debate.


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