[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 1, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    REGULATORY TRANSITION ACT OF 1995

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                               speech of

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives
                       Thursday, February 23, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 450), to 
     ensure economy and efficiency of Federal Government 
     operations by establishing a moratorium on regulatory 
     rulemaking actions, and for other purposes:

  Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 450, the 
Regulatory Transition Act of 1995, but I would like to make clear what 
this bill does and does not do.
  First, what the bill does do. This legislation will place a temporary 
hold on regulations which are currently under promulgation by Federal 
agencies. These regulations--which number more than 65,000 pages per 
year--are literally choking the economic growth of the Nation and must 
be looked at.
  Again, this is a temporary hold. We are simply saying that the 
redtape machine needs to stop for a few months so we can see if these 
regulations are helping or hurting the American people. I would bet 
that many homebuilders, roadbuilders, and oil and gas entrepreneurs in 
my district would say that the red-tape of regulation is definitely 
hurting.
  However, there are clear limits to what this bill applies to. For 
instance, the bill explicitly states that no regulations ``which would 
prevent an imminent threat to health or safety'' would be affected by 
this legislation. In fact, I spoke to the chairman of the committee 
that wrote this bill, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Clinger, to 
ensure that these provisions were part of the final package.
  But in order to ensure that critical safety regulations pending at 
the Mine Safety and Health Administration [MSHA] would not be affected, 
I will vote for an amendment during floor debate which will exempt such 
actions from the bill. These include important rules requiring better 
ventilation to avoid buildup of methane gas and restricting the use of 
diesel equipment to avoid coal mine fires. I simply feel that 
protecting the health and safety of our miners requires this added 
protection.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, I am supportive of efforts to put a hold on the 
regulation steamroller known as the Federal Government. I only wanted 
to clarify for my colleagues that important rules regarding health and 
safety would not be impacted.


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