[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 49 (Thursday, March 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S811-S812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Biden Administration
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, when it comes to the actions of government,
it is often legislation that grabs the headlines, but it is equally
important to be aware of what a Presidential administration does with
his regulatory power. With the modern expansion of the regulatory
state, Presidents have a tremendous amount of power to affect our
economy and Federal policy through regulation, and President Biden has
made aggressive use of regulatory power to push his agenda and to
burden our economy in the process.
President Biden's big spending habits are well-known: the $1.9
trillion American Rescue Plan spending spree that he signed into law;
the trillions of dollars in new government spending he has proposed and
pushed for over the course of his administration. But his carelessness
with taxpayer dollars is not limited to legislative initiatives.
President Biden has also pushed through regulations costing almost $360
billion and requiring 220 million hours of paperwork--220 million hours
of paperwork. Now, that is a big compliance burden and a good reminder
of the fact that regulations have consequences--consequences for
individual Americans, consequences for American businesses, and
consequences for our economy.
Take the Biden administration's proposed rule to require Federal
contractors to disclose their direct and indirect greenhouse gas
emissions and, in some cases, not only their own direct and indirect
emissions but also related emissions over which the contractor has no
control. This rule is not only impractical, it is unclear how
contractors would even begin to gauge emissions over which they have no
control, but it is likely to be both costly and burdensome.
By the government's own reckoning, the rule would cost affected small
businesses more than $600 million over the first 10 years, and the
National Federation of Independent Business notes that the actual cost
is likely to be much higher. With compliance costs like these, why
would any small business want to apply for a Federal contract?
This is just one of a number of costly regulations the Biden
administration has put in place or is attempting to put in place to
advance its extreme environmental agenda.
A new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency that will require
a drastic reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty
vehicles is not only likely to substantially raise the price of new
trucks, it could drive some smaller trucking companies out of business
entirely, which would be problematic at any time but especially
problematic given the supply chain problems we are still experiencing.
A proposed rule to prohibit the sale of cooktops that consume more
than a
[[Page S812]]
certain amount of energy per year would likely make roughly half of the
gas stoves currently sold in the United States illegal and could
threaten manufacturers with substantial losses, to say nothing of the
way it could limit options for Americans, a substantial number of whom
opt for gas stoves.
Then there is the Obama-era waters of the United States rule that
President Biden's Environmental Protection Agency has resurrected. The
WOTUS rule would give the Federal Government sweeping jurisdiction over
most water features on private property, including things like
irrigation ditches, ephemeral streams, and even prairie potholes.
The Supreme Court is currently considering a case concerning the
Federal Government's authority over the Clean Water Act, the outcome of
which stands to nullify or make obsolete much of the Biden WOTUS rule.
But if the WOTUS rule goes into effect, farmers, ranchers, and other
private landowners could see parts of their land rendered useless for
months while the Federal Government determines what restrictions to
impose. Landowners could also be faced with huge compliance costs, and
the value of their land could plummet. There are also the Biden
administration's oil and gas regulations, which are likely to cost all
Americans money by driving up energy prices.
Despite the need to develop American energy--an economic and, I would
add, national security imperative--this week, President Biden announced
that he is closing off a substantial part of the Arctic to oil and gas
development. While I am pleased that he did approve the Willow Project
this week, he has undercut that approval with these new restrictions.
The President's decision to close off a substantial part of the
Arctic will not only restrict areas for energy exploration and
development, it is likely to discourage future energy exploration and
development even in unrestricted areas, with a correspondingly harmful
effect on energy prices.
As if that weren't enough, yesterday, the EPA piled on with another
rule that targets electricity production and industry in 23 States and
threatens to shut down essential power sources that help guarantee a
reliable supply of electricity to American homes and businesses.
The high energy prices Americans have experienced so far under the
Biden administration--up to a staggering 37 percent under his watch--
could become a permanent feature of American life if the President
continues with policies designed to discourage conventional energy
production.
So far, I have focused a lot on the economic costs of regulations and
the Biden administration's environmental agenda, but of course his
environmental agenda is not the only extreme agenda President Biden is
pushing through regulations. For example, he is also using the
regulatory power to push his extreme abortion agenda.
The comment period recently closed for a proposed new regulation that
could threaten medical professionals' right to decline to participate
in abortions. And in defiance of Federal law which prohibits the VA
from providing abortion services, the Biden administration has
implemented a rule to use taxpayer dollars to provide abortion
counseling and abortion services to individuals served by the VA.
While Presidential administrations have tremendous power to push
their agendas--and burden our economy--through regulation, there are
things Congress can do to push back against troubling exercises of
regulatory power. One way is through the Congressional Review Act,
which allows Congress to block regulations if it can gather a
sufficient number of votes.
Republicans have put forward a number of Congressional Review Act
measures--or what we call CRAs--to block some of the Biden
administration's most problematic regulations. Republicans in the House
of Representatives--joined by a handful of Democrats recently--approved
a CRA to block the waters of the United States rule, and we will soon
take up this measure here in the Senate. I also expect us to take up a
measure in the near future to prevent taxpayer dollars from going to
fund abortions at the VA.
Thanks to Senator Capito, we have already managed to block one
problematic Biden regulation so far this year. Senator Capito announced
her intention to challenge a Federal Highway Administration memo, which
the Government Accountability Office determined to be a rule,
discouraging States from pursuing highway expansion projects and
prioritizing funding for projects that reduce emissions. Rather than
waiting for a congressional vote, the Federal Highway Administration
withdrew the memo, issuing a revised version without the problematic
language--a win for infrastructure investments in rural areas of our
country.
We are likely to have an uphill battle in Congress when it comes to
blocking other problematic Biden administration regulations, but
Republicans in both Houses are committed to doing everything we can to
protect Americans.
(The remarks of Mr. Thune pertaining to the introduction of S. 839
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
Mr. THUNE. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lujan). The Senator from Indiana.