[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OPPOSITION TO H.R. 21

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 5, 2017

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I voted against H.R. 21, a bill 
that would allow Congress to summarily reject any regulation finalized 
during the final year of a President's administration.
  Current law, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), already allows 
Congress to invalidate rules adopted in the final 60 legislative days 
of an outgoing Administration on a case-by-case basis, preventing 
agencies from promulgating that rule or any substantially similar rule.
  Today's bill, however, would allow Republicans to invalidate 
important regulations protecting public health, consumer rights, and 
the environment en bloc, without debating each rule individually or 
providing the transparency and accountability that would come from a 
rule-by-rule vote.
  This means that rules finalized after the thorough and public process 
set forth by law--or extended by lawsuits--that agencies must follow 
are invalidated, even if the underlying problems remain, and with no 
plan to fix those underlying problems. For instance, rules limiting 
horse soring or strengthening consumer protections regarding organic 
food could be blocked under this rule.
  The voters elected President Obama to a second, full four-year term. 
This deeply anti-democratic effort by the Republican majority not only 
undermines the President, it also leaves Americans and our environment 
holding the bag. H.R. 21 is perhaps more detrimental than the Senate's 
refusal to fill the Supreme Court vacancy because this bill would allow 
Congress to invalidate an entire year of an entire administration's 
work.

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