[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8063-8064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           REGULATORY REFORM

  Mr. ROUNDS. Madam President, I rise, for the first time speaking in 
this Chamber, to discuss the future of our great Nation, how truly 
fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the world.
  We are protected by the best military that has ever existed and that, 
in turn, allows us to live freely here at home, to focus on our God-
given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
  In my home State of South Dakota, we cherish these rights. We have 
the opportunity to make our dreams come true because we have these 
rights and because we have a commonsense value system to guide us.
  When I was elected, I promised to bring South Dakota common sense to 
Washington and to work to solve problems for the good of every South 
Dakotan and every American. But, unfortunately, when I travel back 
home, I continue to hear from my fellow South Dakotans about the 
Federal Government infringing on these rights and values.
  You see, our great Nation has been bogged down in recent years with 
what I believe is one of the greatest hindrances to job growth and 
economic productivity; that is, the overregulation of our citizens. 
Overregulation is not a Democratic or a Republican issue, it is an 
issue that affects every single one of us. But I believe it is a 
challenge we can solve through cooperation and perseverance. It doesn't 
matter if you are talking about a doctor or a small business owner or a 
farmer or a rancher, overregulation has affected every single sector of 
our society.
  The regulatory burden on this country is nearly $2 trillion annually, 
and this is in addition to the tax burden already placed on our 
American citizens. That regulatory burden is larger than Canada's 
entire economy. In fact, the cost to comply with Federal regulations is 
larger than the entire GDP of all but only eight other countries in the 
entire world.
  Even more staggering, just a few years ago, we surpassed 1 million 
Federal regulations in America--1 million Federal regulations. 
Regulations are stifling economic growth and innovation and hurting the 
future of this country by crushing the can-do American spirit that 
founded our Nation, settled the West, won two World Wars, and put a man 
on the Moon--and every year more than 3,500 new Federal regulations are 
added.
  This just does not make sense, and it certainly is not South Dakota 
common sense. What alarms me is not only the volume of regulations 
being thrust upon our citizens but also the process for creating them. 
The purpose of Congress is to be the voice of the people when making 
laws. Unfortunately, the voice of the people in the rulemaking process 
has been cut out and replaced by unelected government bureaucrats who 
think they know better than the farmer or the scientist or the 
entrepreneur.
  Our Founders recognized the need for making laws, granting the power 
to create laws to Congress and only Congress. They meant that process 
to be difficult so our government would not overburden citizens and 
restrict their freedom, freedom that those Founding Fathers had just 
fought so hard to obtain. Through Congress, every citizen should have a 
voice, but unfortunately that is not what is happening today.
  Our Founding Fathers created three branches of government with checks 
and balances for each one. They could never have imagined that we would 
have a regulatory process in place today where unelected bureaucrats 
would both write and have the final approval of the rules and 
regulations under which our people must live.
  This regulatory regime, which is responsible for the 3,500 new rules 
each year, has essentially become a fourth branch of government and a 
de facto legislative body. The problem is exacerbated because these 
bureaucrats in Washington have this misperception that they know how to 
run our lives better than we do.
  While working as a business owner, a State legislator, as a Governor, 
and now as a Senator, I have seen just how detrimental this 
``Washington knows best'' mentality is on the daily lives of South 
Dakotans and Americans.
  Many of my friends on both sides of the aisle have come to the Senate 
floor in recent weeks and months with some great ideas and legislation 
to limit or stop or repeal or remove some of the worst regulations 
currently on the books. I applaud them for these efforts, many of which 
I also support.
  I look forward to working with the senior Senator from South Dakota, 
my friend John Thune, as well as anyone who is willing to work with me 
to remove these burdens that are stunting American greatness and, well, 
bring a little South Dakota common sense back to our regulatory 
environment.
  The regulatory system in America has run amok. Too often, burdensome, 
costly regulations are crafted by bureaucrats at the highest level of 
government, behind closed doors, with little input from everyday 
Americans who disproportionately feel the effects of these one-size-
fits-all policies.
  It is regulation without representation--and it is wrong. The 
American people are being squeezed out, their voices falling on deaf 
ears in Washington. Small businesses, which drive our economy and 
create the majority of jobs in America, are especially hurt by 
overregulation because they, too, have to hire lawyers and employees to 
comply with these rules. This takes away capital that could be used to 
hire new production employees and expand their businesses.
  People in my home State of South Dakota feel victimized by their own 
Federal Government. It is keeping crops from getting to market, and it 
is keeping businesses from growing. The idea that unelected and 
unaccountable bureaucrats should be allowed to make sweeping rules and 
regulations with no recourse should be a concern to every American, 
regardless of political affiliation, because it impacts everyone. No 
party has a lock on the American dream, and American innovation doesn't 
have a party affiliation.
  From the stack of paperwork required to process a bank loan to the 
regulatory price of putting food on the table, the cost of Federal 
regulations are ultimately passed down to each and every American. 
Without excessive regulation, imagine how much more money American 
families could have in their pockets to spend on what they want, 
instead of what the government wants. If we cut our redtape, families 
can stop having to cut their budgets.
  The regulatory regime is a dark cloud over our entire economy. I am 
not saying there isn't a place for rules in our society; there is. 
Rules are meant to keep us safe and to promote the greater good, and I 
do believe there are some good rules and regulations which are on the 
books today. The problem I have is with the bad rules that keep good 
people from going about their daily lives.
  Unfortunately, there are too many of these bad rules that are 
hindering our freedoms and stifling our growth. These are the 
regulations which we should have a process in place to reexamine.
  Today, I come to the floor to discuss bipartisan legislation, which 
we have already introduced, to permanently end regulation without 
representation. It takes a giant leap forward in restoring the people's 
role in the rulemaking

[[Page 8064]]

process. After all, if the American people don't like the laws we make, 
they can vote us out, but they have no such power with unelected 
bureaucrats. They are stuck.
  You see, the bipartisan legislation we have submitted, S. Con. Res. 
17, would create a Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Reform, whose 
purpose includes reviewing regulations currently on the books and 
proposing a new rules review process that includes the elected 
representatives of the American people. It is rooted in South Dakota 
common sense and the principles that have made this country great, 
making government work for Americans, rather than against them.
  Madam President, this committee would make several recommendations to 
Congress to rebalance this broken regulatory scheme.
  First, the committee would be tasked with exploring options for 
Congress to review regulations written by agencies before they are 
enacted, providing much needed oversight through the possibility of a 
permanent joint rules review committee, which would be tasked with 
reviewing rules with a cost of $50 million or more. This permanent 
joint rules review committee would have the ability to delay the 
imposition of these rules for not more than a year from the time the 
agency submits the rule for a review to enable Congress to act on the 
rule if they do not care for the rule.
  Second, the committee would examine an option for agencies to submit 
each regulation with a $50 million or more impact to the appropriate 
committees of Congress for review before the rule is enacted.
  Finally, the joint select committee could recommend ways to reduce 
the financial burden regulations place on the economy as well as 
sunsetting onerous and outdated ones.
  This joint select committee would not be a permanent one, but it 
would be bipartisan, bicameral, and hold meaningful hearings so that a 
permanent solution to our overregulation problem can be properly 
addressed.
  This legislation also offers a starting point for the committee by 
requiring certain possible solutions to our regulatory problem to be 
considered. I firmly believe that regulations should be reviewed by 
elected officials, those who are accountable to the American people 
through the democratic process.
  This is not a new concept. It is not rocket science. It is a common 
practice at the State level. In fact, 41 of the 50 States, including my 
home State of South Dakota, have a rules review process to make sure 
the executive branch is faithfully executing the laws they seek to 
implement.
  It is worth repeating that regulations are estimated to cost $1.88 
trillion annually in the United States, and that is above and beyond 
the tax burden our citizens already share. That amounts to just under 
$5 billion every single day, and it just doesn't make sense. It is 
unfair to those who still believe in and are working to achieve the 
American dream. Whether Americans are seeking to buy a car, take out a 
mortgage on a house, start a business, or see the doctor, regulations 
obstruct them.
  When I think of those who sacrificed everything so that our children 
and grandchildren could create their own version of the American dream, 
I think about the freedoms and liberties they fought so bravely to 
defend. They fought so that we could pursue life, liberty, and 
happiness and trust that our government would not hinder these lifelong 
endeavors. It is not Washington that will continue to make this country 
great; rather, it is the collective spirit of individual Americans who 
want to work hard to be successful for their families and their 
communities. But they need the heavy hand of government to be lifted.
  Here in Washington, it is not our job to dictate how Americans run 
their lives but to allow them to achieve their dreams, not make them 
into nightmares.
  The phrase ``Washington is broken'' is far too common. It seems as 
though whenever we go home, there is someone who suggests that 
Washington is broken. We hear it regularly. People use it to describe 
the current state of our Federal Government. ``Washington'' is now used 
in a derogatory manner.
  This city, the Capital of our Nation, named after our very first 
Commander in Chief, the man who led us to victory in the Revolutionary 
War and birthed this great Nation, has become, over time, the same as a 
four-letter word. Remember, George Washington left the Presidency 
voluntarily after two terms in office. He wanted to get away from the 
monarch style of government in which rulers held their positions for 
life. And now this city that bears his name is full of lifelong 
bureaucrats--and even worse, they are unaccountable to the people. It 
is a far cry from the Republic our Founders envisioned.
  Madam President, in the year 2026 our country will celebrate its 
250th birthday. That is just over a decade away. When we get to that 
point, I hope to join my fellow Americans in looking back with great 
pride in all we have accomplished and all we have to pass on to future 
generations.
  President Kennedy challenged our Nation to put a man on the Moon 
before the decade of the 1960s had passed--less than 10 years. I am not 
asking us to do anything as tough as putting a man back on the Moon, 
but I think we should commit ourselves to removing the barrier of 
government regulations that is weighing on the American spirit and 
again set free the American economy before the decade preceding our 
250th birthday.
  I have not submitted legislation to start a new committee that exists 
in name and does no deed. Americans want us and expect us to be up to 
this challenge, and I believe we are. We can lift the heavy hand of 
government. The Founding Fathers did not anticipate thousands of 
regulators and a million regulations when they created this country. It 
is time to end this regulation without representation and restore the 
lawmaking process to the people.
  I thank my friends on both sides of the aisle who have cosponsored 
RESTORE and encourage the rest of my colleagues to sign on to this 
commonsense approach to addressing the issue of overregulation so we 
can work to make this country even greater and safer than we found it. 
Then, during our 250th birthday celebration, we can be proud that we 
restored a little South Dakota and American common sense for our 
children and their children.
  With that, Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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