[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 178 (Thursday, November 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT PROGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Mrs. Roby) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. ROBY. Madam Speaker, I would like to start by saying I am 
heartbroken and shocked by the terror attack in New York this week. 
This atrocious act of hatred and violence has no place in this country, 
and we must make it clear that we will not stand for it.
  I offer my sincere condolences to every single person who has been 
impacted by this senseless tragedy. My family and I will be in prayer 
for everyone who has been hurt by this act, whether physically or 
emotionally.
  I also want to thank law enforcement officers who responded so 
quickly, who saved lives and apprehended the suspect. As scary as this 
incident was, we can all be reassured by the courage and 
professionalism of our law enforcement, the military, and the 
intelligence community that work together to keep our country safe.
  Madam Speaker, it has been a busy 10 months here in the House of 
Representatives. We have passed more than 360 bills this year alone in 
a unified effort to deliver on our promises to the American people. Of 
course, many of those bills are aimed at rolling back the Big 
Government policies of the Obama era. So I would like to say we are 
doing a lot to make sure that the Federal Government does less.
  As a limited government conservative, I am especially glad that we 
have taken action to return some of Washington's bureaucratic power to 
the American people. The last 7 years saw the emergence of a regulatory 
state that never stopped in its mission to grab power and impose its 
will at the expense of everyday Americans. This town is overrun with 
Federal agencies and departments where bureaucrats sit around every day 
concocting rules and regulations that might sound like a good idea but, 
in reality, end up weighing down businesses, destroying jobs, and 
limiting freedom.
  In his 8 years, President Obama added 18,000 pages to the Federal 
Register, amounting to 6 pages added every day that he held office. 
This habit costs American households roughly $15,000 per year, each.
  While President Obama is no longer in office, his regulatory state is 
alive and well, but not for long. Madam Speaker, the people of Alabama 
elected me to help put an end to that, and I am proud to report that is 
exactly what we are doing. The House is changing the game because the 
American people deserve better than to pay for unnecessary Big 
Government mandates. We have utilized the Congressional Review Act to 
strike 15 Federal regulations that were imposed by executive action.

  What kind of regulations?
  One extended intrusive, overreaching, and punitive environmental 
penalties on energy companies, costing tens of thousands of jobs, but 
not anymore.
  One attempted to force State and local schools to use Washington's 
preferred teacher preparation programs, undermining local control--not 
anymore.
  One restricted States' ability to enforce existing laws stopping 
otherwise able-bodied drug abusers from receiving unemployment 
benefits--not anymore.
  One attempted to take away the Second Amendment rights of millions of 
Americans without due process by arbitrarily restricting Social 
Security disability beneficiaries from purchasing firearms--not 
anymore.
  Finally, one attempted to force States to steer millions in Title X 
funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood, even over the State's 
objections--not anymore, thank God.
  These rules no longer exist because this Congress, working together 
with the Trump administration, struck them one by one. In all, 15 bills 
rolling back these Big Government policies have been passed and signed 
into law.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud of the work the House of Representatives 
has done, and I hope it can give us momentum for tackling more pressing 
issues like tax reform and infrastructure.

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