[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS NEED RELIEF FROM UNFUNDED MANDATES

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, the Environmental Protection Agency is 
just one of the many Federal agencies that are stiffing local and State 
governments with bills they do not pay for.
  For instance the EPA wants the city of Dallas, TX, to totally 
redesign its 4,500 mile long sewer system. This redesign would cost $3 
billion. This figure equals roughly three times their yearly budget.
  This is one of the many examples of an unfunded mandate. There are 
probably thousands more just like it.
  Mr. Speaker, unfunded mandates must be reformed because they impose a 
crowding-out effect on State and local governments. Instead of funding 
the basics like fire and rescue, hospitals, highways, and law 
enforcement, local and State governments are forced to fund excessive, 
and sometimes exotic, Federal regulations. We must act now to curb 
these excesses and return the Federal Government the principles of 
fiscal responsibility.


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