[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WE CAN REBUILD TRUST

  (Mr. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, our Constitution lists few, if specific, 
qualifications for the office we now hold. Article I, section 2 states 
that we must be at least 25 years old, we must have been a citizen for 
the past 7 years, and we must live in the State we represent.
  In ``The Federalist Papers,'' Alexander Hamilton and James Madison 
wrote that ``Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part 
of the federal government is open to merit of every description, 
whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to 
poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious 
faith.''
  In a phrase, our body is to represent the American people in all of 
its opinions, complexities, and riches; and I believe we do. For in a 
free nation such as ours, no single person can represent the people as 
a whole. In this body, I proudly work with colleagues on the left and 
the right, from every region and State, people who profess different 
faiths, have had different careers, and embody the experiences of the 
American people. No gathering in this Nation is more like its people 
than in this House. We are joined together in representing not only our 
constituents but our country.
  Mr. Speaker, we now have a high and honorable task set before us. 
First, we must take our practical principles that we have built up by 
the hard experience of generations who have come before us, and we must 
apply them to a changing future. Our mission is not to return to the 
past, nor to destroy it, but rather to build upon it.
  And then we must direct the desires of the people into action. 
Millions of Americans long ignored have rejected a future of limits and 
slow decline. We have heard their voices. But history will not judge us 
by how well we hear but how well we act.
  The unemployment rate has steadily declined and ticked down to 4.9 
percent, but what is more important is that our labor participation 
rate is only 62.7 percent. Outside of the Obama years, that is the 
lowest labor force participation rate since 1978.
  The reason our unemployment rate is dropping isn't because people are 
finding jobs. They have no prospects for stable and meaningful work. 
The American people have unrivaled talent and ability, but it is not 
being used. If we are looking for a reason behind the message that the 
American people sent us in November, this is a good place to start.
  And for so many who have work, things aren't much better. Millions of 
Americans, especially those in the heartland and struggling 
neighborhoods in our big cities, aren't sharing in America's 
prosperity. In fact, the bottom half of the economic distribution in 
America hasn't felt any of the economic growth from the 1970s on. These 
people spend their whole lives working and never have the chance to 
move up.
  We have had the wisdom to listen to all of the American people, 
especially those being left behind. Now let us have the courage to 
lead. Let us have the courage to define the people's desires in law. 
And as we go about our daily business, Mr. Speaker, we should remember 
not only that we have great purpose, but we also have great power 
loaned to us directly from the American people.
  Our Republic, and the liberties we hold dear at this time, are 
threatened by bureaucracies, subject to no authority but their own 
will. They cannot be controlled by the people and are increasingly 
unrestrained by the people's representatives. This is not a partisan 
concern. Congress has a duty to act as a unified body in defense of our 
Article I powers because, unlike the bureaucracy, we are accountable to 
the people.
  That is why I have scheduled this House to tackle this problem 
starting today through a two-step approach. First, as I have long said, 
structure dictates behavior. We need to fix the structure in Washington 
that deprives the people of their power.
  Second, we will repeal specific regulations that are harmful to the 
American people, costing us time, money, and, most importantly, jobs. 
To begin to get to the root of this problem, we will pass the REINS Act 
that will require Congress to approve every major regulation produced 
by the administrative state. And unlike the bureaucracy, if the people 
don't like what they see, they can vote us out of office.
  Then next week, we will take a look at the Regulatory Accountability 
Act, which will require agencies to choose the least costly option 
available and will end judicial deference to agencies, which puts the 
American people at a disadvantage in the courtroom.
  But it is not just how rules are made. It is what rules are made too. 
The President continues to unilaterally impose regulations on his way 
out the door. So while we haven't yet determined what needs to be 
repealed first, I expect to start with swift action on at least the 
stream protection rule and methane emissions standards, both of which 
limit our energy production.
  This process won't be completed quickly, but as we remove harmful 
regulations and change the structure of Washington, draining the 
bureaucratic swamp that undermines the will of the people, we can 
rebuild trust between the people and their government again. And not 
only that, within the renewed and responsive structure of a truly 
representative government, we can restore that hope held by so many 
generations before, that hope that has defined America's character 
since before our Nation was founded. It is the American Dream so that 
we and our children can find more meaning, security, purpose, and 
success than those who have come before us.
  Restoring that dream is the purpose of this body in the 115th 
Congress. The American people expect this country to be great again. 
Here and now, we will move us toward that greatness.

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