[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MANDATES INFORMATION ACT OF 1998

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                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 19, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3534) to 
     improve congressional deliberation on proposed Federal 
     private sector mandates, and for other purposes:

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Chairman, for far too long the interests of 
America's consumers, workers, and small business owners have been lost 
in the shuffle of impassioned pleas for more federal laws and 
regulations. Because of this, Congress has not shied away from imposing 
expensive federal mandates on the private sector while neglecting the 
economic repercussions. As a result, this practice only perpetuates the 
distance between those inside the beltway and those on Main Street.
  I supported the Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 because it has helped 
to build bridges of understanding between our layers of governments by 
ending federal mandates on state and local governments. It is now time 
to apply that same logic to the private sector.
  I fully support the Mandates Information Act because it aims to 
extend the same accountability, currently afforded to state and local 
governments, to the private sector. The Mandates Information Act will 
force Congress to take a good look at how the legislation we consider 
will impact those whom it affects most. No longer should Congress to 
able to pass on mandates whose financial implications aren't fully 
considered. If the citizens in the private sector must be held 
accountable for complying with Federal law, Congress should be held 
accountable to the people affected by those laws.

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