[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.