[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H2302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEATH BY REGULATION
(Mr. FARENTHOLD asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. FARENTHOLD. To balance our budget, we have got to do more than
just cut spending. We've got to cut excessive government regulation
that keeps businesses from growing, expanding and hiring more people.
We have got to get rid of the culture of ``no'' that infects our
regulatory agencies like a cancer.
A small business from south Texas that knows firsthand the
detrimental impact of shortsighted and excessive regulation is Zarsky
Lumber Company with its 135 employees. They survived the Great
Depression and this economic downturn, and they now face another big
threat--the EPA and its job-killing rules.
Another large business is considering locating a new plant in China
instead of south Texas to avoid oppressive regulations. Our government
has become too big and Federal regulations too onerous.
In a recent meeting with a Federal agency, I asked how long their
permitting process took. They told me between 3 and 7 years. How do
regulators sleep at night knowing that every day they delay is a day
someone doesn't get a job they need to support their families?
Our job is to help create jobs. And we create jobs by getting the
government out of the way. Cutting redtape is just as important as
cutting spending to get our financial house in order.
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