[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16418-16419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     GROWTH IN FEDERAL REGULATIONS

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it is often said that there are two 
constants in life--death and taxes--but I would like to add one more 
for your consideration: regulations. We often talk about the threat 
that America's growing debt poses to our economy and to our future, but 
the growth in Federal regulations also poses a serious threat to our 
Nation's long-term job creation and economic growth.
  According to the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, the potential 
growth rate of our economy--or the rate of growth that is possible 
given the education of our workers, the quality of capital equipment, 
and the business formation rate--averaged 3.3 percent for the period 
from 1950 through 2014. However, CBO expects that annual rate to fall 
2.1 percent in the period of 2015 through 2025. That is a 36-percent 
reduction in the potential growth rate of the economy. Why is this so 
critical? According to the President's own Office of Management and 
Budget, a 1-percent increase in the economy's growth rate will yield 
more than $400 billion in new revenues without raising taxes. Yes, that 
is according to the President's own Office of Management and Budget. A 
1-percent increase in the economy's growth rate--we are talking about 
the private sector, not the government sector; the private sector is 
where the revenues come from--would yield more than $400 billion in 
revenues without raising taxes.
  We are always talking about the need for more revenues, but we are 
doing the opposite. The administration is doing the opposite of what it 
takes to get that growth to happen. When the growth rate falls, when we 
grow more slowly than we could and aren't meeting our full potential, 
government revenues also fail to keep up with budget projections. If we 
reduce by 1 percent, we lose another $400 billion in revenues. So what 
happens when the government revenue comes up even shorter in the face 
of growing overspending? That results in more borrowing, and it results 
in bigger overspending and in expanded debt.
  Senators from the Western States know all too well the economic 
effects of regulations coming out of bureaucracy-bloated agencies such 
as the Environmental Protection Agency. Today I want to focus not just 
on the impact of recent regulations on my home State of Wyoming's 
economy but the drag they are creating on the economy nationwide. And 
at the same time, they are hiring ad agencies at billions of dollars to 
improve their image. They can improve their image just by doing their 
job without putting more burdens on the American people and eliminating 
jobs.
  The State of Wyoming is the largest coal-producing State in the 
Nation. Coal represents almost 40 percent of our share of electricity 
generation across the United States. My county provides 40 percent of 
all of the coal in the United States. It is abundant, it is affordable, 
and it is stockpilable. It is the only energy that is stockpilable. 
This is an energy source which has the potential to power our country 
for hundreds of years, to support jobs for thousands of people, and 
doesn't put us at the mercy of unstable regimes overseas, but this 
administration continues to denigrate and regulate coal out of 
existence.
  Since 2012, two EPA rules--the mercury and air toxic standards rule 
and the ozone rule--are estimated to have cost in the tens of billions 
of dollars.
  Let me talk just about the mercury and air toxic standards. That is 
supposed to help save, with benefits--without seeing any scientific 
evidence where these benefits come from--over a period of years, maybe 
$500 million. What is the cost? The cost is $73 billion a year. Why 
would anyone go for that small of a benefit at that big of a cost?
  We are an inventive country. If we put incentives of just a couple 
billion dollars out there, people will solve the problem and get those 
benefits permanently for a very small number, not $43 billion to $73 
billion a year. Those two rules don't include the billions of dollars 
lost to thousands more rules imposed by the EPA and other agencies 
every year.
  If all those rules weren't onerous enough, in August the EPA doubled 
down on its war on coal when it released the final rule on the Clean 
Power Plan. With an estimated price tag of at least $366 billion, this 
rule will not only devastate the coal industry by mandating unrealistic 
carbon reductions, it will also distress American families by causing 
double-digit electric rate increases in more than 40 States.
  The coal industry in Wyoming is feeling the impact. The coal industry 
and businesses and the people who work there and rely on it are facing 
higher regulatory costs at the same time as energy producers are seeing 
a tougher market than they have in years. This is a bad combination for 
economic growth and job creation. At the end of July, Wyoming had 15 
percent fewer energy industry jobs than it did a year earlier, and 
these are good-paying jobs. That is according to the U.S. Department of 
Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of those lost jobs are in 
coal, oil, and gas, and the businesses that rely on them. We forget 
about that ripple effect. Given that close to half of Wyoming's GDP 
comes from this sector, and that nearly half of our State is federally 
owned and much is

[[Page 16419]]

removed from development activity, we have always been concerned about 
any unnecessary government intrusion in our economic livelihood.
  Why do we provide 40 percent of the Nation's coal? It is because it 
is a cleaner coal, lower in sulfur and other chemicals, than any other 
State in the Nation. We ship coal to other coal States so they can mix 
it with their coal to meet the clean air standards. But that is not 
good enough.
  The economic impact of the EPA and other Federal regulations is not 
just hurting Wyoming's economy and costing my State jobs. They are a 
major reason why the economy nationwide is not operating at its full 
potential for economic growth, and it has been stuck around 2 percent 
since the beginning of the so-called economic recovery. We are doing it 
to ourselves. Remember, a 1-percent reduction in the gross national 
product is $400 billion less in taxes.
  The onslaught of Federal regulations targeted directly at the coal 
industry are not just concerns; they are real threats to people's 
economic livelihood--the ability to support their families, the ability 
to support education in most of these States, and the ability to 
support entire communities across the country. With our $18 trillion in 
debt, we can't afford to accept the notion that we are in what some are 
calling a new normal of economic anemic growth. We need to help our 
economy reach its potential, which will help each and every American. 
This cannot be done if the number and cost of significant Federal 
regulations continues to rise.
  The Obama administration continues to push Federal regulations, such 
as the waters of the United States rule, which significantly expands 
Federal authority under the Clean Water Act. That rule has been taken 
to three courts already, and in each of those cases, it has been ruled 
illegal.
  They are still pursuing other avenues. The recent National Labor 
Relations Board rulemaking redefined the meaning of an employer.
  These regulations, taken by themselves, have the potential to impose 
billions of dollars in economic costs--on family farms, ranches, and 
particularly small businesses--which hinder the growth of America's 
entrepreneurial spirit, not to mention the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau. It sounds like a great entity, but in banks alone, 
they have had to hire twice as many people to do paperwork as they used 
to have to have, just to keep from getting fined by an agency that has 
no control. I tried to get an inspector general to be over the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau. After we got him, he said: You know, I 
don't have any authority to look at any of this stuff.
  Where are the fines going?
  We don't know. We are not allowed to see that.
  That is because they get their money from the Federal Reserve before 
the money from the Federal Reserve comes from the U.S. Government. We 
shouldn't have anything as out of control as that.
  I was meeting with some community bankers. I said: Well, my wife is 
kind of interested in expanding our kitchen in Gillette, and I was 
thinking maybe we ought to get a loan and do that. The house is all 
paid for. I was wondering how long it would take.
  They said: Well, about 78 days, and then you get 1 week. In case you 
don't like the deal you made, you can rescind it. I remember the last 
time we needed to do something in the house before it was paid for. I 
had to get a second mortgage, and I got it in a matter of a couple of 
days. They could just write the check so I could go ahead and do it. 
Now it is 78 days plus another week. That is what government 
regulations are doing. That doesn't speed up the economy. There isn't a 
contractor that can go to work until they get an assurance of being 
paid.
  Over the next few months and weeks, I am going to share with my 
colleagues new information from leading economists that shows there is 
a real relationship between the growth of regulations and our 
struggling economy. This is a relationship that is clear to the people 
who experience the difficulties of complying with more and more 
regulations that make it harder to succeed. I hope that what is clear 
to business owners, to their employees, and to the communities across 
the country can be understood here in Washington.
  I will share new statistics and data showing the lost income and jobs 
due to Federal regulations, the effects of regulation on key 
industries, the breakdown of how specific Federal agencies are 
impacting our economy, and the regulatory burden the Federal Government 
has placed on hard-working Americans in economic sectors in every 
State. It is crucial for lawmakers and hard-working Americans to 
understand the true cost of the regulations that are being issued by 
this administration. Shining a light on these regulations and the 
burden they impose on each and every American is the only way to hold 
government accountable and to begin the process of reining in out-of-
control agencies so we can halt the flood of regulations choking our 
economy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.

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