[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 137 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H7904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 UMITA

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, you can't turn on the TV this week without 
hearing about MIT economist Jonathan Gruber's comments that ObamaCare 
was passed by exploiting the lack of information given to the American 
people. In his comments, Gruber, a key architect of the legislation, 
called the lack of transparency involved in passing ObamaCare ``a huge 
political advantage.''
  President Obama has claimed that his administration is the most 
transparent administration in history, but statements like Gruber's 
indicate otherwise.
  It is long past time for Congress to require transparency from the 
executive branch. Earlier this year, a bipartisan majority in the House 
passed my bill, H.R. 899, the Unfunded Mandates Information and 
Transparency Act, which we call UMITA. This bipartisan legislation 
would improve transparency and public disclosure of the true costs in 
dollars and in jobs that Federal dictates pose to the economy.
  Asking the Federal Government to disclose the cost of a mandate in 
addition to its benefits should not be controversial. It is just plain 
common sense, Mr. Speaker. I call on the Senate to pass UMITA and put 
transparency back in government.

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