[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 7 (Thursday, January 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H165-H166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REGULATORY REFORM RESULTS IN 2017

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fitzpatrick). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Hill) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for the opportunity to 
address the House this afternoon.
  Beginning in 2013, I began discussing how our economic recovery was 
subpar in comparison to post-World War II recoveries. That is, in part, 
due to, as I argued, the wet blanket of the avalanche of new regulatory 
costs imposed by the previous administration.
  Since Congress has a poor track record of regularly enacting all of 
our appropriations bills, funding the government, and directing agency 
priorities, the administrative state, that unelected portion of our 
government, has expanded in authority and filled that void.

                              {time}  1215

  The House turned a corner this year, Mr. Speaker, by passing all 12 
spending bills, fully vetted through our committees, prior to September 
30, 2017. Sadly, only the first time since 2010. Further, it has been 
more than 21 years since Congress has passed all 12 funding bills and 
had them signed into law before the start of a new fiscal year.
  Likewise, the Supreme Court, in their case, Chevron U.S.A. v. the 
Natural Resources Defense Council, back in 1984, set up a concept now 
referred to as the ``Chevron deference.'' This, too, has empowered the 
unelected, Big Government Washington authorities deferring to their 
authority, rather than the People's Congress. This has further 
emasculated the Article I powers of the Constitution. I disagree with 
this concept of Chevron deference. Before he died, Justice Scalia 
regretted his defense of Chevron deference and said that it, in fact, 
``contravened separation of powers.''
  This combination of the Chevron deference and the lack of the 
regular, predictable oversight and appointments have resulted in this 
wet blanket of a growing leviathan of a centralized Federal power, 
negating State authorities protected under the 10th Amendment and 
curbing freedom for our families and individuals.
  Noted New York lawyer and author, Philip Howard, calls this ``The 
Rule of Nobody.'' In the 2014 book, Howard argues that our 
administrative state is wearing people out. The process is devoid of 
human judgment and common sense.
  Many of us, in the Congress, are pushing back insisting, like in the 
VA Accountability Act, that--a shocking idea--bad employees should be 
fired and, through the public oversight of our committees or in my own 
Golden Fleece Awards, that we demand accountability of the personnel of 
the Federal Government and commonsense in the application of our 
policies.
  Howard recalls the U.S. Open golf championship, back in 2011, out in 
Bethesda, Maryland, when county officials shut down a children's 
lemonade stand near the course because it didn't have a vendor's 
license, Mr. Speaker. This mindless, box-checking approach is not 
limited just to the beltway's Federal mandates.
  So enters President Trump, our new President. Last year, I wrote 
then-President-elect Trump asking him to create a regulatory relief 
task force to address the overly burdensome regulations from our 
Federal agencies that, in my view, have hurt, over the past decade, our 
economic growth, our job growth, our productivity, and, hence, our wage 
growth.
  In February of 2017, President Trump ordered Federal agencies to 
create a regulatory reform task force to identify rules within their 
agency that needed elimination or modification.
  I rise today to recognize the improvements in the regulatory process 
in the past year and the significant reductions in cost to the economy, 
as a result, and I commend the new administration for seeking to 
continue this momentum into 2018, with the recent release of its 
regulatory plan and agenda for 2018.
  As Phil Howard has demonstrated, and we experience daily, the Federal 
administrative state is lacking in accountability. It is not just vast 
and costly; it is unnecessarily intrusive into the everyday lives of 
hardworking Americans.
  In Arkansas, we have seen agency regulations that have had 
devastating economic impacts on our farmers, small businesses, 
nonprofits, schools, colleges, universities, and State agencies.
  President Trump set the proper tone for reining in this regulatory 
state by issuing an executive order, in the first 10 days of taking 
office, directing agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for 
each new one issued. Common sense.
  In 2017, Federal agencies have withdrawn or delayed 1,579 planned 
regulatory actions, leading to over $8 billion in lifetime net cost 
savings.
  In 2018, the Trump administration plans to raise the bar by issuing 
448 deregulatory actions and 131 regulatory actions, a better than 3 to 
1 ratio, resulting in more than $9 billion in lifetime costs savings 
for the economy.
  This chart shows the annual cost of new regulations reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget every year, beginning in 2009. You can 
see the wet blanket that I described growing between 2009 and 2012. But 
you can see, in the last column, 2017, that there is actually a 
decline: a $570 million reduction in the cost of new regulations 
proposed by Washington.
  During 2017, here in Congress, we have passed 13 congressional review 
acts, 11 of which President Trump signed into law this year. By 
repealing these 11 damaging, large rules, the economy will save some 
$10 billion over the next 20 years.
  These savings and cuts put the control back in the hands of the 
American people and ensure more accountability and much-needed 
transparency to the rulemaking process is assured, while providing that 
local businesses, local farmers, and communities have relief.
  Also, we are working with the administration to rightsize regulatory 
costs through the use of cost-benefit analysis and asserting our 
Article I oversight authority. Thus, Congress is working, through our 
committee process, also, to lower and remove the costs and burden of 
that wet blanket of an overburdened regulatory state.
  Naturally, this cost benefit work must be done responsibly by 
balancing labor and capital, clean air and water, energy security, 
clean energy, future safe banks, and protected consumers. All that is 
the responsibility of our elected Members in the House and Senate and 
their oversight of the executive.
  I commend President Trump for cutting the red tape in Washington and 
giving control back to our States, local communities, and hardworking 
taxpayers.


                           Coptic Resolution

  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I rise, today, to discuss my recent resolution 
here in the House, H. Res. 673, which expresses concern over attacks on 
Coptic Christians in Egypt.

  I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt last year. In the course of 
preparing for that trip, and during the trip, as well as after I 
returned back to the United States, I repeatedly heard about the plight 
of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
  ISIS named the Copts their number one target, and we all know their 
brutal atrocities against them.
  In Libya, back in 2015, ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, sending 
shock waves from that photo around the world.
  Scores were killed in the bombings of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church 
in Cairo, in December 2016. Most recently, on December 29, 11 were shot 
and killed outside of Saint Menas Church in Helwan.
  These are just a few of the atrocities carried out against Copts by 
terrorist groups like ISIS.
  I had the opportunity to walk the halls of the St. Peter and St. Paul 
Cathedral. I reflected on the Gospel of Matthew, when Mary fled to 
Egypt with baby Jesus to save him from King Herod. The Copts are the 
Egyptians. In fact, the word ``Coptic'' in Greek means Egyptian.
  But there in St. Peter and St. Paul's beautiful cathedral in Cairo, 
murdered by a coward, as women and children prayed, blood splattered on 
the walls

[[Page H166]]

marked the horror and chaos of that place of worship and serenity.
  Although Coptic Christians have repeatedly been victims of numerous 
attacks from terrorist groups and extremists, it has been most 
disturbing to me to learn of the attacks carried out against Copts and 
Christian churches that are carried out by their fellow Egyptians.
  On December 22, 2017, just after Friday prayers, dozens of Egyptian 
Muslims assaulted a Coptic Christian church south of Cairo in an act 
that started out as a demonstration. While unsanctioned by the Egyptian 
Government, this church had been holding services for some 15 years.
  According to reports, the individuals called for the church's 
demolition, destroyed its contents, and assaulted those worshipping 
inside. Based on similar attacks, it is unlikely, Mr. Speaker, that the 
Egyptian Government will hold those perpetrators accountable for this 
egregious action.
  This is just the most recent example of the ongoing trend of assaults 
on Copts, their churches, and their property.
  I believe that many of us in Congress were pleased to see Egyptian 
President el-Sisi join Coptic Pope Tawadros II in participating in last 
Saturday's Orthodox Christmas mass at the recently opened Nativity of 
Christ Cathedral in Egypt's new administrative capital east of Cairo.
  President el-Sisi's words of tolerance and hope are appreciated by 
all those who respect peace for all those who live in Egypt and all who 
favor religious freedom across the globe.
  However, while President el-Sisi spoke words of tolerance, there are, 
in my view, greater actions that both he and the Egyptian Government 
can take to protect the rights of Egyptian Christians seeking merely to 
raise their families, pursue their work, respect their leaders, and 
love their ancient nation.
  For this reason, I introduced H. Res. 673 to urge continued progress 
in religious tolerance in this very important country. There are many 
constructive steps that will enhance tolerance, provide better security 
for Christians, and improve the education and opportunities for all 
Egyptians.
  My colleagues and I offer this resolution because of our long 
friendship and partnership with Egypt. We are partners in regional 
peace efforts, regional economic growth, and in our mutual desire to 
defeat militant terrorist groups and nations and those who finance 
them.
  President el-Sisi has set the right tone at the top level of his 
government, and I believe he has a respectful partnership with the 
leadership of the Copts and other Christians in Egypt.
  But that respect and the resulting legal protections must be passed 
down to all levels of government and society because the streets, 
sadly, tell a different story.
  The Egyptian people are a proud people with an extraordinary 
civilization, and I believe this is a great opportunity for Egypt to 
emphasize the importance that Copts can play in Egyptian society as 
full Egyptian citizens.
  As Coptic Pope Tawadros II told me on my visit to Cairo, all 
Egyptians, Muslim and Christian, take their water from the Nile.
  Egypt is an essential partner in the efforts toward a lasting peace 
between Israel and her neighbors and in the fight against terrorism and 
violent extremism.
  President el-Sisi told me on two occasions how important 
counterterrorism is to the Egyptian Government. It is their number one 
concern, without any doubt, and I commend the President for his 
partnership with the United States, and especially with Israel, in the 
field of counterterrorism.
  With ISIS carrying out two terrorist attacks last year in Egypt 
within a month of each, in November and December, that killed Muslims 
and Christians, the Egyptian Government's concerns about terrorism are 
legitimate and real.
  However, in my view, I do not believe Egypt's march toward 
modernization and progress and focusing on counterterrorism should come 
at the cost of sacrificing advances in human rights, education, and 
religious freedom.
  I urge swift consideration of my resolution by the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee and on the floor of the House so that we can continue 
to advance religious freedom and civil society with our partner, Egypt.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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