[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 11 (Thursday, January 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES

                                 ______


                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 19, 1995

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity to take 
action on an issue that we are all concerned with--unfunded Federal 
mandates on State and local governments and the private sector.
  H.R. 5 restricts the ability of the Federal Government to impose 
unfunded mandates on State and local governments, and private-sector 
entities, without providing the necessary funds to fund them. 
Specifically, the bill establishes a Commission on Unfunded Mandates to 
make recommendations about existing mandates; requires Federal agencies 
to develop procedures to minimize unfunded mandates and to publish 
cost-benefit analyses of any new regulations expected to cost States 
and localities, or the private sector, more than $100 million annually; 
requires the Congressional Budget Office to prepare cost estimates of 
proposed mandates and requires congressional committees to report 
whether the mandates will be funded or unfunded; and establishes 
automatic points of order against legislation imposing unfunded 
mandates greater than $50 million.
  I have heard from State, county, municipal officials, and employers 
in my home State of Illinois about this issue. These people live with 
the effects of unfunded mandates everyday. They see the costs in their 
communities every day in houses priced out of reach for first time 
homebuyers, in libraries reducing hours or closing doors entirely, and 
in the trade-offs that they have to make between police officers, 
health inspectors, firemen, refuse services, and every increasing taxes 
on their constituencies. For local and State governments, this is not a 
theoretical political science discussion--it determines in large 
measure how they do their job.
  I am proud to come to the floor today and voice my support for H.R. 
5, the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. I care about this issue because I 
firmly believe that the Federal Government should have a limited role 
in our lives. Before being elected to Congress, I was a family lawyer 
in a small town for over 20 years. I had the opportunity to see up 
close and personal how my community was being destroyed by unfunded 
mandate after unfunded mandate from the Federal Government.
  When I came to Washington in 1992, I came committed to doing what I 
could to end this unprecedented, unwarranted, and unfunded intrusion by 
the Federal Government into the affairs of local government.
  While this bill does not repeal previously enacted mandates, at least 
it starts us on the path toward putting procedural roadblocks to 
unfunded Federal mandates.
  This legislation is desperately needed because the Federal Government 
must adopt a coherent and fair policy regarding unfunded Federal 
mandates. That policy should be that the Federal Government should fund 
its mandates. That policy should further reflect the philosophy that if 
the Federal Government is going to weigh in on a problem or issue and 
propose remedies and requirements, then the Federal Government must set 
priorities and find a way to pay for them.
  H.R. 5 embodies this philosophy. If adopted, it will establish a new, 
more responsible relationship between Washington and State and local 
governments that says the Federal Government will provide them with the 
necessary resources whenever it asks them to meet or satisfy any 
Federal standard. That is why the enactment of this bill is so 
important.
  You can imagine my surprise when this bill is described as radical 
and revolutionary. One opposition group describes it as an effort to 
roll back most of the great social gains our Nation has made in the 
past 50 years. It isn't and it won't--and the people who oppose our 
bill know it.
  What is truly radical is the way Congress currently handles mandates. 
There is no authorization and appropriation process, and therefore no 
priorities are set. Over 200 years ago, the Founding Fathers figured 
out that there would be more good ideas than money. Unfortunately, a 
number of my colleagues have not.
  When Washington faces a serious problem, it only has three options 
available to it. It can increase revenues to fund new programs. It can 
eliminate old programs to fund new ones. Or it can pass on the costs of 
new programs to others: State and local governments. This is just a 
form of indirect taxation. Guess which one is most politically 
expedient in Washington, DC?
  Unfunded Federal mandates are also the most expensive way to 
accomplish these good and sometimes not so good ideas. There is no 
incentive to discover the most cost-effective way to implement a 
program if some one else is paying for it. In fact, the regulations can 
be as cumbersome and inefficient as the Federal bureaucracy wants 
because they are not responsible for compliance. State and local 
governments are. Washington gets to feel good--and local governments 
get to pay the tab. It is like your friend making a big show of buying 
your dinner at a fancy restaurant, but when the bill comes, he is 
nowhere to be found, and you get stuck with the tab.
  Around the Nation, some State legislatures have begun convening joint 
sessions with their Federal representatives, asking them to explain the 
how and why of their positions and their voting record on mandate 
issues. Even the news media is beginning to cover this issue. It does 
not have, as Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell puts it, the sexiness of 
many other issues, but its impact cannot be understated.
  However, our day has come. If the new Congress is going to show real 
leadership, this bill must pass. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill 
and oppose all weakening amendments.

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