Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 115, Midnight Rules Relief Act
Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1616 and ask for its immediate consideration. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts…
Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1616 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
Mr. Speaker, last night the House Committee on Rules met to report a rule providing for consideration of H.R. 115, the Midnight Rules Relief Act under a closed rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees. It also provides one motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, first off, I will start today by saying thank you to everyone who has prayed for our family and sent letters, flowers, and best wishes over the past 2 weeks. Your thoughts and your prayers have helped our family as we deal with an almost unimaginable crisis with the loss of our beloved daughter, Christine. The support from everyone in this body has been overwhelming, and I hope everyone knows that my family appreciates the support. We met overwhelming grief with overwhelming support, and for that I want to thank people.
With today possibly being the last time I manage this debate, and if this body will indulge me, I will express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as chairman of the exceptional Rules Committee.
When I was first elected in 2003, I could never have imagined serving in this capacity and performing such an important role in our legislative process. Throughout my career, I have made a point of always saying ``yes'' to a challenge. When Speaker Johnson called me, I knew I had no choice but to accept. Serving on this committee,
let alone assuming the role of chairman, has not been an easy ride, and the legislative process is not as smooth as what we learned in ``Schoolhouse Rock!,'' but it has only allowed me and my appreciation for the House of Representatives to grow further. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve as its chairman.
It has given me a front-row seat to history, and whether I agreed with the decisions being made or not, this committee continues to be a model for how Members conduct themselves in the House of Representatives, respectful but ever-passionate, and I hope you all continue with that strong and honorable tradition in the next year because the American people have high expectations, but, frankly, they deserve the best from us.
I also will take a moment and thank the Rules Committee itself, my personal staff, the Rules Committee staff, who have worked so hard to ensure that I am prepared every day and that this body can conduct its work efficiently. For the past 22 years, I have been blessed to be surrounded by an amazing, smart, and talented staff. Without each of them, I would not have gotten to where I am today.
I thank my Republican colleagues for your continued commitment to prioritizing legislation that is always in the best interest of Americans. You all have a tall order next year, but having gotten to know each of you over my time here, I have every bit of confidence that this House is up to the task.
I appreciate Mr. Speaker's indulgence, and now we will get on to the business at hand.
Yesterday, the Rules Committee met to report on a rule providing for consideration of legislation that is as timely as it is fundamental to our constitutional checks and balances. The Congressional Review Act, or CRA, provides the primary legislative check on regulatory overreach by allowing Congress to reverse a rule by resolution. However, that is a single rule, and Congress' ability to keep up with these new regulations is constrained by its ability to write and pass new bills as fast as an administration can send them out with trillions of taxpayer dollars and resources at their disposal.
Administrations of both political parties tend to overwhelm Congress at the end of their term with hundreds of new rules. These are known as midnight rules, representing billions of dollars of new regulatory burden in the span of just a few short weeks. Congress has historically struggled to keep pace. The executive branch has exploited the inefficiency of the Congressional Review Act because bureaucrats know that Congress simply does not have the time or the resources to consider hundreds of rules, draft a bill for each one, and get each one signed into law by the time that rule would take effect. The result is our constituents bear the burden of this new bureaucratic cost without any accountability to eliminate it. H.R. 115 makes a small change to existing law to allow Congress to catch up to this expected onslaught of new regulations as the Biden-Harris administration leaves office.
The bill will streamline the process Congress already employs with respect to executive rulemaking. It does not change the lookback timeframe, congressional prerogatives to block similar rules, nor does it eliminate or constrain the executive rulemaking authority in any way. These things are already in existing law.
All it does is simply allow what Congress can already do in one bill instead of hundreds. Doing so will allow Congress to keep up with the rapid pace of midnight rules, reining in the Federal bureaucracy at a time when historically it is its most aggressive.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
These are interesting talking points that have come up against a bill that the minority purportedly says didn't do anything in the first place. Let's look at what the facts of the case are.
This bill does nothing to change how the Congressional Review Act works. It does not change the look-back period for disapproving rules. It remains 60 legislative days from the point at which a rule is put in the Federal Register. That is current law.
It does not change whether Congress can block substantially similar rules. Congress is already able to do that. It is authorized under law and unchanged by this bill.
It does not proactively constrain or eliminate executive rulemaking authority.
All this bill does is allow Congress to do what it already can do in a single bill rather than having to file multiple bills.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, can I just point out for the record that the number of rules produced by this Rules Committee under this Republican majority is more than the number of rules that were produced in the previous Congress under a Democrat majority. That is just a fact of life.
Look, I recognize this time of year, it does get tense. The ranking member knows well that the committee has to remain flexible to be able to give the Speaker the tools he needs to get done whatever needs to be done for the government to be funded for the end of year. It is not always a pretty process. It wasn't when Democrats were in charge, and certainly this year, the challenge remains.
I do want to say this: The motion to vacate the Speaker a year and some months ago was a mistake. It was a mistake brought to the floor by individuals who had a particular axe to grind, and they ground it. It hurt the country, and it was wrong.
We are so fortunate that Speaker Johnson stepped forward. He took the challenge that the Conference provided him, and he has provided excellent stewardship in the 16 months that have followed. We are enormously grateful as a Nation, especially at this time at the end of the year where we are giving thanks and we are looking around and counting our blessings.
Well, one of those blessings that families should count is Speaker Mike Johnson because he has really placed the future of his country front and center in his life. His family has had to make sacrifices, and he has had to make sacrifices.
Yes, we have made some sacrifices on the Rules Committee. I freely admit that, but this country is worth that. As we wrap this up--and this may not be the last rule of the year. You never know. The excitement is always around every corner. As we conclude this debate, I, for one, just want to say how grateful I am to the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, for the work that he has done in delivering us and getting us here. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
Mr. Speaker, I would just point out that in the last election that the gentleman keeps referring to, Republicans did prevail. They prevailed up and down, Presidency, the Senate, and the House. It is a narrow margin to be sure, but it keeps you on your toes when you are trying to manage a very slim majority.
I think for the first time in history, there is a larger majority in the Senate than there will be in the House in the next Congress. The American people heard a vision articulated by our Presidential candidate, President Trump, and they responded to it.
I mean, what has failed the last 2 years has been leadership from the White House. It has been nonexistent. We are entering a time where there will be a bold vision for America, articulated by soon-to-be 47th President Donald J. Trump. I, for one, am grateful and looking forward to his leadership on that.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Review Act, a lot of times, people don't think about it. It is not something that registers or strikes a lot of cords in people's souls, but let me just tell you something, we all have those moments in our lives: I remember where I was when the man landed on the Moon. I remember where I was when a world leader died. I remember where I was when the Congressional Review Act was allowed to go into law under George W. Bush early in his administration that prevented the institution of what was called the repetitive injury rule.
I ran a small medical practice at the time, not a big business. I had 50 employees in my office, and I was going to have to change every computer terminal, every keyboard, and every keyboard rest to be in compliance with the repetitive injury rule that some agency in the Federal Government had produced.
Congress, early in the days of the Bush administration, passed the Congressional Review Act, which reversed this rule. I remember pulling into my driveway one evening, probably early the year 2001. We didn't have cable news and 24-hour news back then. I was listening to NPR on the radio.
The news came across the wire that Congress had repealed this Federal rule that was going to cost me tens of thousands of dollars in my small medical practice. Although that was a small step for man, a giant leap for mankind, it was at that moment I realized in my mind the importance of my Representative looking at the rules that are produced by a Federal agency. I didn't need more paperwork to make my life safe at that point.
Clearly, I urge this body to support the rule and the underlying legislation. The bill allows Congress to more efficiently review rules issued during the midnight hours of the President's term by reviewing more than one rule at a time. This change would let Congress properly oversee agency rulemaking in the period when a disproportionate amount of rulemaking historically occurs.
Mr. Speaker, for perhaps the last time, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.