PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 115, MIDNIGHT RULES RELIEF ACT

On 2024-12-17, Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3) delivered a floor speech titled "PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 115, MIDNIGHT RULES RELIEF ACT" in the House. The speech addressed gun policy and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation including HR115, HRES1616.

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 115, MIDNIGHT RULES RELIEF ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [House] [Pages H7247-H7251] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 115, MIDNIGHT RULES RELIEF ACT Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1616 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1616 Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 115) to amend chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for en bloc consideration in resolutions of disapproval for ``midnight rules'', and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Strong). The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1 hour. Mr. BURGESS. 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. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas? There was no objection. Mr. BURGESS. 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, [[Page H7248]] 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. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I will take a moment to recognize my colleague, Chairman Michael Burgess. First, I will let him know that he and his family will remain in our prayers during the difficult time that he is now dealing with, and we all will keep your daughter in our prayers, as well. As he also mentioned in his opening remarks, this is the last time that he will be managing a rule on the House floor before his retirement. While it is no secret that Congressman Burgess and I have rarely agreed on issues before us--we probably can't even agree on what to have for lunch--I have always respected his dedication. I have always respected his diligence and his service to this institution, and I know how much he loves this country. I know I speak for all of us when I say that we appreciate his years of hard work and we wish him all the very, very best. We look forward to working with him in other capacities. He has placed his official portrait right in front of me in the Rules Committee, so I will constantly think of him. In any event, Mr. Speaker, now for the matter at hand while we are all on the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I wish I could stand here today under different circumstances and I wish I didn't have to open my remarks with the news of another senseless tragedy, but here we are again. Yet another school shooting, this time at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Innocent people killed; innocent people injured just days before Christmas. Let's think about that for a moment. Innocent people killed and injured while the Republican leadership in this Congress does absolutely nothing about the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Nothing at all. It is shameful. How many times are we going to let this happen? How many more shootings before we decide enough is enough? This House should be moving heaven and earth to pass legislation to save lives. Instead, Republicans are wasting more time on yet another bill that does nothing and will go absolutely nowhere. {time} 1230 This so-called Midnight Rules Relief Act that we are considering is not about helping the American people. It is not about protecting kids from gun violence. It is not about making our communities safer. This bill is about one thing only: giving handouts to corporate special interests. Republicans are gutting critical protections that keep our air clean, water safe, and economy fair because they want to give corporate special interests free rein to pollute, cheat, and exploit the system. This is about helping billionaires and big donors at the expense of everyone e

Referenced legislation: HR115, HR115, HRES1616