Protecting 5th District Virginians from Federal Over-Regulation

Congressman Robert Hurt

Weekly Column 5/20/13

 

This week, the House of Representatives adopted two pieces of legislation that will rein in the size and scope of the federal government and remove job-destroying regulations. In addition to voting to repeal the President’s health care law that is harming families and small businesses across Virginia’s 5^th District, we also adopted the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act to limit unnecessary regulations handed down by the federal government. The House Committee on Financial Services brought this measure to the House Floor to ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission is being held accountable to the American people in its rule-making by requiring that the SEC conduct a cost benefit analysis of all proposed rules. My amendment, which would require that this measure be extended beyond the SEC to all organizations under its purview, passed the House with bipartisan support and thus was included in final passage of the legislation. During debate on this measure, I delivered the following remarks on the House Floor. You may view them at hurt.house.gov. 

Floor Speech Text

 

“I thank the Chairman for yielding. I thank him for his leadership on this issue.

 

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the bill that’s being offered by Mr. Garrett.  This is a bill that will ensure the SEC will abide by simple cost benefit analysis requirements.

 

“All federal agencies – but especially the SEC – affect the efficiency and success of our Main Street businesses across Virginia’s Fifth District and all across this country. The SEC primarily exists to protect investors, maintain fair and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. This positions the Commission as a critical component of our small businesses’ ability to access the capital they need to grow jobs. If access to capital continues to be constrained by overly burdensome regulations, we will not see the economic growth and the jobs that we need in my district and across the United States.

 

“While it is critical that the SEC be able to promulgate certain rules to implement congressional legislation, it is also critical that Congress clearly set forth its legislative prerogatives. As members of Congress, we must ensure that the rules that the SEC adopts are made with good purpose, and that they are not unduly adding more burdens on hardworking Americans at a time when our economy is struggling.

 

“Indeed, I believe that all taxpayer funded federal agencies should be held accountable by the Congress to ensure that the cost of the rules that they promulgate will not be greater than the benefit of those rules to the American people.

 

“Congressional oversight is our constitutional responsibility and I am proud to support this legislation to ensure that excessive federal regulations are not unnecessarily hindering job creation at a time when people across Virginia’s Fifth District need jobs most.

 

“I urge passage of this good bill and I yield back the balance of my time.”

 

If you need any additional information, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.    WC: 527