[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 82 (Thursday, May 11, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2891-S2892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT RESOLUTIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, over the past 8 years, the American 
people struggled in an economy that too often failed to meet its 
potential. Many struggled to pay bills. Many struggled to make the 
mortgage. Too many couldn't find a job at all.
  Yet, time after time, when Americans looked to the Obama 
administration, they got tired leftwing ideology instead of serious 
solutions. When Americans asked for policies that would allow the 
economy to grow again, the Obama administration gave them just the 
opposite: a highly aggressive regulatory rampage that sometimes veered 
outside congressional authority, that often hurt the economy and job 
creation even more, that nearly always empowered unaccountable 
Washington bureaucrats at the expense of the American people.
  Of course, not all regulations are bad regulations. Many are 
necessary and even beneficial, but what the Obama administration seemed 
to forget in its fit of ideological pique is this key point: 
Regulations are not issued in a vacuum. They can harm the middle class. 
They can kill jobs. They can raise prices. They can depress wages. They 
can reduce opportunity.
  No matter how well-intentioned, regulations can have undesirable, 
often unexpected, impacts--and in this regulatory avalanche of the last 
8 years, we saw another example of the consequences of putting leftwing 
ideology over the lives of real people.
  It is one reason why Americans decided to go in a pro-growth 
direction last November. They elected a new President who, as one of 
his first acts, ordered the elimination of at least two existing 
regulations for every new one issued. He called for a regulatory budget 
to cap regulatory costs. He and his administration took a number of 
actions that are already helping to turn the regulatory tide back in 
favor of growth and jobs.

[[Page S2892]]

  The American people also reelected a Republican Congress that wasted 
no time in providing regulatory relief to Americans and restoring 
legislative power where it rightfully belongs, with the people through 
their elected representatives right here in Congress.
  We have a tool that has proved incredibly helpful in this regard. It 
is called the Congressional Review Act. It is the brainchild of a 
bipartisan group of legislators, including former Democratic Leader 
Harry Reid, and what it allows Congress to do is overturn regulations 
issued over the last 60 days with a simple majority vote.
  From its inception in 1996 until this February, it had only been used 
successfully one time. From February until today, it has been used 
successfully 13 times--with the 14th soon to be signed into law; 
namely, to overturn a number of Obama administration regulations rushed 
through at the last minute.
  Getting this done hasn't always been easy, and we have met a lot of 
obstruction along the way. Although the Democrats once championed the 
CRA, a tool that is ``fair'' in the words of former Leader Reid, our 
current Democratic colleagues seem to take a very different view. They 
have fought against our efforts to deliver relief to the American 
people, just as they have blocked and punted and forced unnecessary 
procedural hurdles on the President's nominees for months, and that, 
remember, was mostly for the sake of unnecessarily taking up valuable 
floor time, knowing full well it would not change the end result. 
Regardless, despite those obstructionist tactics, we have continued our 
regulatory relief efforts because we knew it could make a positive 
difference for our country.
  This congressional action we have taken already, in coordination with 
key administration actions, is estimated to result in more than $67 
billion in regulatory cost savings. Let me say that again. The actions 
we have taken so far, coupled with key administrative actions they have 
taken on their own, result in more than $67 billion in regulatory cost-
savings and about 56 million hours' worth of paperwork reductions.
  The New York Times says the efforts we have undertaken represent ``a 
historic reversal of government rules in record time.'' A historic 
reversal of government rules in record time. The Washington Post 
proclaimed it ``the most ambitious regulatory rollback since Reagan.'' 
Politico calls it ``a once-in-a-generation opportunity,'' and that is 
exactly right.
  In just a few short months, we have turned a significant corner from 
how things operated under the Obama administration. Instead of going 
around Congress to push through regulations, the President is working 
with us to ease the burden. Instead of adding even more redtape to the 
Federal Register, we are breaking through it. Instead of promoting 
policies that hinder growth, we are pursuing ones that actually 
encourage it.
  The actions we have taken can benefit the American people in a number 
of meaningful ways: Like hard-working families saving for retirement--
we made sure Obama-era regulations wouldn't stand in their way. Like 
students who want to receive the best education they can--we made sure 
Obama-era regulations wouldn't hold them back either.
  After 8 years of an administration which punished coal miners and 
their families for simply working hard to make a living, we are finally 
working hand-in-glove with an administration that wants to help mining 
families instead. Here is an example of what I mean.
  In the Republican administration, President Trump used Executive 
action to order a review of Obama-era regulations that attempted to 
close existing coal plants and prevent future ones from ever, ever 
being built. In the Republican Congress, we used the CRA to overturn an 
Obama administration rule which would have put as many as one-third of 
coal mining jobs at risk.
  Together, Congress and the Trump administration are taking decisive 
action to support jobs in domestic energy and coal communities. As we 
do so, we have seen encouraging news as well. According to one report, 
Kentucky saw a slight, slight increase in coal production last quarter, 
and Federal projections predict that national production will continue 
to increase over the next few years. I was pleased to see that news. It 
is a trend we would like to see continue. I will keep working with the 
administration and my colleagues in Congress to continue to protect 
Kentucky jobs and Kentucky families.
  These examples, and others, offer yet another illustration of how we 
can make meaningful and positive impacts in the lives of the people we 
represent.
  Look, we know there is a lot more to be done. We know the scale of 
the challenge. The growth of the regulatory state has taken a 
substantial toll on our economy, one that can't be remedied overnight. 
A recent Washington Post column cited studies saying that ``the costs 
of complying with federal rules and regulations totaled nearly $1.9 
trillion in 2015, equal to about half the federal budget''--$1.9 
trillion in 2015--and that regulations may have shrunk our annual 
growth rate by as much as 0.8 percent. These regulations may well have 
shrunk our growth rate by 0.8 percent. As the column pointed out, ``A 
main rap against the administrative state is that, through its 
aggressive growth, the executive branch has usurped power from other 
parts of the government, mainly Congress.''
  With the action we have taken with the CRA, that is beginning to 
change. Indeed, one reason the Congressional Review Act is so important 
is because it helps Congress serve as a check and balance on the 
executive branch. As three former Senators, including former Leader 
Reid, put it, the Congressional Review Act can help ``redress the 
balance [between the executive and legislative branches], reclaiming 
for Congress some of its policymaking authority.''
  While we can't simply turn back time or completely erase the negative 
impact that Obama regulations have had already, the CRA has allowed us 
to stop a number of them in their tracks while also preventing agencies 
from creating similarly harmful rules in the future.
  A lot of time and a lot of effort has gone into seeing these 
resolutions across the finish line so I thank each of our colleagues 
who had a hand in that effort. Specifically, I recognize those who 
introduced these resolutions or the Senate companion of House CRA 
resolutions.
  I thank: Senator Inhofe; Senator Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee; Senator Johnson, chair of Homeland Security; Senator 
Murkowski, chair of Energy; Senator Sasse; Senator Alexander, chairman 
of the HELP Committee; Senator Cruz; Senator Sullivan; Senator Cassidy; 
Senator Flake; Senator Ernst; Senator Hatch, the Finance chairman; and 
Senator Barrasso.
  I also thank Senator Tillis, who was an outstanding advocate for 
using the CRA process, as well as Senator Cornyn who worked tirelessly 
to bring these resolutions over the finish line.
  This historic regulatory rollback would not have been possible 
without their leadership. Because of their efforts and key actions by 
the Trump administration, we have begun chipping away at policies that 
have hurt the middle class and prevented economic growth for far too 
long. Much work remains to be done, but we are going to keep working 
together to help our economy fully recover from 8 years of anti-growth 
regulatory overreach, 8 years of missed opportunities, 8 years of 
dreams deferred, and 8 years of government that left far too many 
behind.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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