[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3859-S3860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNFUNDED MANDATES CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the conference 
report to the unfunded mandates bill. I am proud that we are so close 
to delivering this critical legislation to the nation's Governors, 
mayors, and town managers who have been laboring under the terrible 
weight of unfunded mandates.
  When the President signs this bill, we will hear a collective sigh of 
relief from coast to coast. For too long, Congress shifted the cost of 
these regulations and mandates to the States. Their ledgers bled red 
from our actions. Their 
[[Page S3860]] treasuries were sapped to pay for compliance with the 
unfunded mandates that we have foisted upon them.
  However, with this conference report, of which I was very happy to be 
a part, in working out the differences between the House and Senate 
versions of the mandate bill, we are taking an important step in the 
right direction. Equilibrium is restored. The fiscal responsibility 
shifts back where it belongs--with the authors of these rules.
  Mr. President, I say to my colleagues this is a fair and just 
compromise. This is a conference report that addressed the unfunded 
mandates problems head on. This is a conference report all of us can 
support no matter on which side of the aisle we sit. I wish we could 
approach more of the business of the American people in such a 
bipartisan manner as we have addressed this in the Congress of the 
United States.
  In closing, Mr. President, it is my opinion that the conferees did an 
excellent job knitting together the two different bills in this 
coherent and seamless package. We compromised without sacrificing the 
muscle and teeth of the Senate bill.
  From my point of view as a Senate conferee, I was most pleased that 
the judicial review process was kept to a minimum. The current wording 
is certainly far more restrained than the broad House language which 
would have provided a field day for lawyers. Their loss is our gain, 
thank goodness.
  I would also point out that the conference report maintained the 
amendment sponsored by the distinguished Senator from West Virginia 
[Mr. Byrd]. The language forces Congress to vote on an agency's 
decision on whether or not it can implement a mandate with the money 
appropriated. This conference report gives Congress the last word, to 
which I say ``amen.''
  Mr. President, one of my favorite Presidents, Harry Truman, was 
famous for the sign on his desk that said, ``The buck stops here.'' We 
can learn a lot from those words. For too long, Congress has been 
passing the buck to the States. For too long, we have been passing the 
buck and passing the bill. It is time we took responsibility for our 
own actions. It is time we pulled the plug on unfunded mandates. It is 
time we passed this conference report, and I hope we will today.
  Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of any time remaining, and I 
yield the floor.
  Mrs. MURRAY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.

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