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June 8, 2011 specifically, how do we get businesses to do more in terms of hiring, spend less on redtape, less on bureaucracy, and reduce the regulatory burden in smart ways? The current administration has said some of the right things but actually moved in the wrong direction. We have seen a sharp increase in the last couple of years in what are deemed to be major economically significant rules. That is defined as regulations that im- pose a cost on the economy of $100 mil- lion or more. According to the administration’s Of- fice of Management and Budget, the current administration has been regu- lating at a pace of 84 major rules per year. By way of comparison, that is about a 50-percent increase over the regulatory output during the Clinton administration, which had about 56 rules per year, and an increase from the Bush administration as well. So we have seen more regulations and more significant regulations. I was encouraged to hear President Obama’s words when he talked about the Executive order in January, which is entitled ‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.’”’ But now we need to see action. We need to see it from the administration, from individual agencies to provide real regulatory re- lief for job creators to be able to reduce this drag on the economy. One commonsense step we can take is to strengthen what is called the Un- funded Mandates Relief Act. It was passed in 1995. It was bipartisan. I was a cosponsor in the House of Represent- atives. It is an effort to require Federal regulators to evaluate the cost of rules, to look at the benefits and the costs, and to look at less costly alternatives on rules. The two amendments I would like to offer over the next few days as we con- sider the legislation before us would improve this Unfunded Mandates Re- form Act, and it would reform it in ways that are entirely consistent with the principle President Obama has laid out and committed to in his Executive order on regulatory review. The first amendment would require agencies specifically to assess poten- tial effects of new regulations on job creation—so focusing in on jobs—and to consider market-based and non- governmental alternatives to regula- tion. This would broaden the scope of the Unfunded Mandates Relief Act to require cost-benefit analysis of rules that impose direct or indirect costs of $100 million a year or more. So, again, this is for major rules of $100 million or more. It would also require agencies to adopt the least costly or least burden- some option that achieves whatever policy goals have been set out by Con- gress. It seems to me it is a common- sense amendment. I hope we will get bipartisan support for it. The second amendment would extend the Unfunded Mandates Relief Act to so-called independent agencies which today are actually exempt from the cost-benefit rules that govern all other agencies. In 1995, we had this debate and determined at that time we would not extend the legislation to inde- pendent agencies. In the interim, inde- pendent agencies have been providing more and more rules, have put out more and more regulations, and are having a bigger and bigger impact. An example of an independent agency would be the SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the CFTC, which is the Commodity Futures Trad- ing Commission. These are agencies that, although independent in the exec- utive branch, are very much involved in putting out major rules and regula- tions. It is sometimes called the ‘‘head- less fourth branch’’ of government be- cause their rules are not reviewed for cost-benefit analysis, even by the OMB, the Office of Management and Budget, in its Office of Information and Regu- latory Affairs, so-called OIRA. We have looked at some GAO data and put together various studies, and it appears to us that there are about 200 regulations that were issued between 1996 until today that would be deemed to have an impact of $100 million or more on the economy but were auto- matically excluded from the Unfunded Mandates Relief Act because they were deemed to be from independent agen- cies. So it is basically closing a loophole and closing this independent agency loophole, which I believe is a sensible reform. It has been endorsed by many people, including, interestingly, the current OIRA Administrator and the President’s regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein, who, in a 2002 Law Review ar- ticle, talked about the fact that this is an area where UMRA ought to be ex- tended because, again, there were so many independent agencies that were putting out regulations impacting job creation in this country. No regulation, whatever its source, should be imposed on American em- ployers or on State and local govern- ments without serious consideration of the costs, the benefits, and the avail- ability of a least-burdensome alter- native. Both these amendments would move us further toward that sensible goal, and I hope the leadership will allow these amendments to be offered. I think they fit well with the under- lying legislation. If they are offered, I certainly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support them. I yield the floor. I suggest the ab- sence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call. The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Ee MORNING BUSINESS Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators be nsGase 9:08-cv-80736-KAM Document 85-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/17/2011 Page 2 of 4 : CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3607 allowed to speak as in morning busi- ness for up to 10 minutes each. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. EE TRIBUTE TO LOUIS E. GIVAN Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a distinguished Kentuckian who has worked tirelessly on behalf of our Nation’s soldiers, sail- ors and marines for more than 40 years. Louis E. Givan, a lifelong resident of my hometown of Louisville, has played a vital role in protecting the men and women of our Armed Forces and our country’s defense. Formerly a sailor himself in the U.S. Navy, he has served for the last 11 years as the general manager of Raytheon Missile Systems operations in Louisville. I was saddened to hear of his retirement from that position this coming July 5. He will certainly be missed. Mr. Givan—or, to those who know him, Ed—was a 1966 graduate of St. Xa- vier High School in Louisville and in 1970 earned his bachelor of science de- gree in mechanical engineering from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. In 1968, he began working at the Naval Ord- nance Station in Louisville, and he stayed at that post until 1996, in var- ious engineering and supervisory posi- tions. In 1996 the Naval Ordnance Station transitioned to private ownership, and Ed's leadership was crucial in making that transition a successful one. The facility eventually became part of Raytheon Missile Systems, and Ed was appointed general manager in 2000. As general manager, Ed has led Raytheon Missile Systems in Louisville to great success, success for both the company and for the local community. They de- sign, develop, and produce vital weap- ons systems for our armed forces, ena- bling America to have the most formi- dable military force in the world. Weapons produced at the Louisville fa- cility are used by our forces in all parts of the globe, including in Iraq. Kentucky is lucky to have benefitted from Ed’s dedication, commitment to excellence, and leadership for so many years. I am sure his wife Velma; his sons Eddie, Tony, and Chris; and his grandchildren Benjamin, Nathan, Isaac, Macy and Natalie are all very proud of what Ed has accomplished. I wish him the very best in retirement, and I am sure my colleagues join me in saying that this U.S. Senate thanks Mr. Louis E. ‘‘Ed’’ Givan for his faith- ful service. CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS ACT Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unani- mous consent that the following letter be printed in the RECORD. There being no objection, the mate- rial was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012719