[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 201 (Tuesday, December 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8427-S8428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
Mr. THUNE. So let me get back to my remarks here and start by saying
that last month, the incoming mayor of New York City, who is a leading
voice in today's Democratic Party, promised New Yorkers:
We will prove that there is no problem too large for
government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care
about.
No problem too large and no concern too small for government to get
involved. That was the quote. That is a dangerous way of thinking. It
is a license for government growing
[[Page S8428]]
unbounded, and it is a recipe for expanded bureaucracy and greater
frustration for Americans who are just trying to live their lives.
But growing government is the driving philosophy of the Democratic
Party, and you can just look at the Biden years. We had the Federal
Government mandating masks for 2-year-olds outside--not in a building,
outside for 2-year-olds; the EPA regulating puddles and saddling
farmers and ranchers with massive compliance laws, which we experienced
in my State of South Dakota; electric vehicle mandates. If they had
their way, by next year, 35 percent of the vehicles on the highway
would be EVs. Thirty-five percent. Do you know what that number is
today? It is about 10, 11, maybe 12. There is no way--no way--that
could have been complied with. And there was a reckless tax-and-
spending spree that caused a yearslong inflation crisis. Inflation got
up in the double-digit range--something we haven't seen in several
decades.
Republicans have spent the last year cleaning up from the
consequences of Democrats' Big Government philosophy. President Trump
has repealed a number of burdensome regulations and rules, and here in
Congress, we have used the Congressional Review Act to repeal rules,
regulations, and mandates that were creeping into seemingly every facet
of Americans' lives. That includes four separate rules on appliances.
That is right--last year, appliances became the latest focus of
Democrats' radical environmental agenda. One rule applied expensive,
unnecessary, new standards to commercial fridges and freezers, the kind
used in restaurants and grocery stores. The Energy Department estimated
that it would take 90 years for a business to see savings from these
more expensive appliances.
Another rule sought to take gas water heaters off the market, raising
costs for homeowners and imperiling American manufacturing jobs.
Then there were the Biden administration's proposed reporting and
certification requirements for everything from light bulbs and
dishwashers to dehumidifiers and air-conditioners.
Reporting and certification requirements may not sound like much, but
those requirements mean a lot of front-end work that has to be done--
work that costs time and money and places a huge burden on businesses
and drives up prices for consumers.
In its public comments on the Biden administration's appliance
standards, Carrier, an appliance manufacturer, said that the Department
of Energy failed to adequately account for ``the cost and burden . . .
to comply with updated requirements.'' A manufacturers association said
that the proposed reporting standards had ``no practical utility.''
Another objected to what they called ``burden without benefit.''
Thanks to Republicans' efforts, hard-working Americans and small
businesses have been spared these costly regulations.
We have also been able to dismantle Democrats' regulatory assault on
Americans' cars. President Trump repealed the Biden administration's
electric vehicle mandate, and here in Congress, we approved legislation
to repeal waivers that would have allowed California to impose a de
facto electric vehicle mandate on the whole country.
We also passed a CRA resolution repealing the Biden rubber tire
manufacturing rule--a gross example of unnecessary regulation. The
Biden administration proposed new emissions standards for tire
manufacturers--an industry that is already subject to strict emissions
rules.
The Biden rule, while it would have reduced the emissions of certain
pollutants, would have actually increased--increased--emissions of
carbon dioxide and methane. That is right. You can't make that up. It
would have increased emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, and it
would have cost tire manufacturers $13 million per year and possibly
more than that.
Unfortunately, these are not the only examples of the overreach of
the Biden administration's Green New Deal-style regulations. No, the
Biden administration also went after energy production, heaping
additional costs and restrictions on energy producers that would have
driven energy costs higher and higher.
Earlier this year, Republicans repealed the Biden administration's
marine archaeology rule. Energy producers are already required to
submit an archaeological report before drilling in areas that are
thought to include things like shipwrecks, settlements, and other
archaeological sites, but the Biden administration wanted energy
producers to submit reports even when there is no reason to suspect a
project will be near an archaeological site. It was just another way to
slow down production and heap more costs on energy producers--costs
that would eventually have been paid by American consumers. Republicans
repealed that rule.
Then there was Democrats' natural gas tax. In 2022, Democrats enacted
a tax on methane emissions from natural gas producers--a tax that would
have driven up energy prices and destroyed jobs in the energy sector.
Republicans repealed this regulatory implementation through the CRA--
the Congressional Review Act--process and then blocked this misguided
tax in the One Big Beautiful Bill this summer.
Our efforts continue. A few weeks ago, the Senate passed a resolution
blocking the Biden administration's restriction on energy development
in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska--an area established
specifically--specifically--for the purpose of providing the United
States with energy resources. The Biden administration tried to close a
significant portion of it, but when President Trump signs this
resolution and repeals these restrictions, we will once again be able
to leverage these abundant natural resources for the benefit of the
American people.
Regulations have consequences. Democrats may believe there is nothing
that couldn't be improved by a little government intervention, but
Republicans and I think the American people know what too often happens
when government decides to get involved.
Reagan said 40 years ago:
[T]he nine most terrifying words in the English language
are: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.
When I am talking to business owners in South Dakota, I often tell
them to let me know how we can help, even if that means getting out of
the way.
And, Mr. President, that is often the right answer. While some
regulations are necessary, too often regulations do more harm than
good. And regulations mean costs--costs that are almost always passed
on to the consumer.
Republicans are continuing our efforts to get government out of the
way and to bring down costs for the American people.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
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