[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Stream Buffer Rule

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the last 8 years, the Obama 
administration has pushed through a number of harmful regulations that 
circumvent Congress, slow growth, shift power away from State and local 
governments toward Washington, and kill a lot of jobs. Even on the way 
out the door, the former administration's regulatory onslaught 
continued as they pushed through more midnight regulations. These 
nearly 40 major regulations, which were pushed through by the Obama 
administration since election day, would cost Americans a projected 
$157 billion, according to one report.
  Fortunately, with a new President, we now have the opportunity to 
give the American people relief and our economy a boost. One of the 
most important tools we have is the Congressional Review Act, which 
allows Congress to provide relief from heavyhanded regulations that 
hold our country back.
  The House just took an important step by sending us two pieces of 
legislation that will reassert congressional authority and make a real 
impact for the American people.
  One of those resolutions will address a regulation that puts U.S. 
companies at a competitive disadvantage to private and foreign 
companies. Passing this resolution will allow the SEC to go back to the 
drawing board so that we can promote transparency, which is something 
we all want, but to do so without giving giant foreign conglomerates a 
leg up over American workers. We will take it up soon.
  The other resolution, which we will take up first, will address an 
eleventh-hour parting salvo in the Obama administration's war on coal 
families that could threaten one-third of America's coal-mining jobs. 
It is identical to the legislation I introduced this week and is a 
continuation of my efforts to push back against the former 
administration's attack on coal communities.
  Appalachian coal miners, like those in my home State of Kentucky, 
need relief right now. That is why groups like the Kentucky Coal 
Association, the United Mine Workers Association, and 14 State 
attorneys general, among others, have all joined together in a call to 
overturn this regulation.
  The Senate should approve this resolution without delay and send it 
to the President's desk. The sooner we do, the sooner we can begin 
undoing the job-killing policies associated with the stream buffer 
rule. This is not a partisan issue; this is about bringing relief to 
those who need it and protecting jobs across our country. I hope our 
friends across the aisle will support our Nation's coal miners and join 
me in advancing this resolution.
  After we address these regulations, both the House and the Senate 
will continue working to advance several other CRA resolutions that can 
bring the American people relief.

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