Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker: I submit the exchange of letters on S. 743. House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security, Washington, DC, September 19, 2012. Hon. Darrell Issa, Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Issa: I am writing regarding the jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Homeland Security over provisions in S. 743, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent with amendments on May 8, 2012. I understand the importance of advancing this legislation to the House floor in an expeditious manner. Therefore, the Committee on Homeland Security will waive further consideration. This action is conditional on our mutual understanding and agreement that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security over the subject matter included in this or similar legislation. I request that you urge the Speaker to appoint members of this Committee to any conference committee for consideration of any provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security in the House-Senate conference on this or similar legislation. I also request that this letter and your response be included in the Congressional Record during consideration of this measure on the House floor. Thank you for you consideration of this matter. Sincerely, Peter T. King, Chairman.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, for 12 years, my greatest ambition here in Congress has been my membership in Judiciary and my activities of trying to bring real immigration reform that's a plus to our country. My district has two notable areas: one, the agricultural areas that so desperately need a guest worker program; the other, throughout San Diego and Orange County, the high-tech areas that in many ways rival the best in the world, that, in fact, run out of H-1Bs on the day that they're offered. So I support the STEM skills reform because it's necessary. But let me just go through two or three things quickly that are so obvious here in this debate. One is: People who are detractors from this say, We'd love to have it; we simply want an expansion in the total number of immigrants. Let's understand, America allows more people to immigrate to our shores than the entire rest of the world, combined, does to theirs. We're already the most generous, and there has to be a number and that number has been set. Secondly, it doesn't take away from anyone who has a valid need or reason to come here. It's not going to limit reunification. It's not going to limit those who have been tortured or in some other way affected in their foreign country. But I think the most telling one is the CBO, our independent, nonpartisan organization that, in fact, has said that making this change will save over $1 billion in costs from the dependency that many diversity candidates prove to have, in spite of the regulations saying they shouldn't. And lastly, and the most important one, as an employer of a high-tech company, a founder and employer for many years, America has to be like every high-tech company. You are always open to hire somebody who will make your company grow. America will grow in four jobs or more for each person who applies and receives one of these visas. That is about getting the economy going again and jobs happening again.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of tens of thousands of women and their families. In 2012, over 22,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Tragically, 15,500 will die from this disease. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer among American women. This September, we recognize Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, honoring those who have battled cancer--and those who continue to struggle with the disease. Their courage is an inspiration to all of us and a reminder that together, we can beat ovarian cancer. With early diagnosis, ovarian cancer is survivable. Over 95% of women who detect ovarian cancer during the early stages of the disease defeat the disease. By learning the symptoms, checking their family histories and visiting with their doctors, women can detect ovarian cancer before it's too late. No one and no family should have to face ovarian cancer without the knowledge necessary to detect and defeat it. Along with my fellow Congressmen and citizens, I am proud to have helped fight ovarian cancer. In 2005, I joined my colleagues to create a federal educational campaign for gynecological cancer, urging the Center for Disease Control and the Office of Women's Health to cooperate with non-profits to raise cancer awareness among women and health practitioners. That year, I also successfully introduced Johanna's Law. In memory of Johanna Silver, who lost her life to cancer after a three and a half month battle with ovarian cancer, Johanna's Law has helped increase awareness of gynecological cancers. I urge all members to recognize and remember Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and the impact of cancer upon our community.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, it is now my honor to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma, (Mr. Lankford).

Mr. ISSA. There you go again. We're shutting down the entire regulatory system because 66 out of 3,000 regulations would be affected by this bill before us today. In just last year, 66 out of 3,000, that's shutting it down. With that, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Chairman, hopefully the gentleman would note that the language he just quoted is from the President's executive order. It's not some sort of pocket information, but, in fact, something the President of the United States felt was a reasonable set of language. With that, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold).

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, pursuant to the unanimous consent made in the House, I will insert the staff report from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform entitled, ``Continued Oversight of Regulatory Impediment to Job Creation,'' the result of over 30 separate field hearings and hearings by the committee, and the work of countless hundreds of job creators around the country who have participated.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona, Dr. Gosar.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 4078.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, I yield myself 2 minutes. Job creation is, rightfully, at the top of Americans' agenda. Americans know that as long as the unemployment rate stays high, wages are stagnant and more than 12.7 million Americans seek jobs they cannot find. More than 42 percent, or nearly 6 million, of those Americans have been unemployed for more than 6 months. Madam Chair, the verdict is in: the President's stimulus plan has failed. While costing over $1 trillion and still counting, those jobs that were created were short, and they too are disappearing. Ultimately, small business will create the engine going forward. Today's bill, in fact, is designed specifically to give confidence to America's business creators, ones that we have heard from on the committee for more than 18 months, the opportunity to take a breath, evaluate what is the lay of the land, and go forward with the business plan, no longer worrying that out of the blue will come major regulatory changes, ones that were unforeseen just a little while ago, that ultimately change their plans, change their ability to make a profit. Whether it's the President's ACA or ObamaCare or smaller $100 million, $200 million, $1 billion new regulations, this uncertainty has put dollars on the sidelines. Today, through more than seven different elements of the titles of the bill, our effort will be to ensure that we do not propose without serious consideration new regulations. The President himself, while producing more than 106 major rules costing more than $46 billion, has said, We may be overregulated. His own chief spokesperson, Mr. Sunstein, has said that, in fact, regulations can cost jobs. So, Madam Chairwoman, it is extremely important that we understand that we must have regulatory certainty, something we will only have by the passage of today's bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt).

Mr. ISSA. I am prepared to close.

Mr. ISSA. Yes, I am.

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chair, I trust the gentleman from Virginia is well aware that the typographical error in the bill under consideration was, in fact, a mistake done by professional staff. And although unanimous consents are not permitted in the Committee of the Whole, I would ask the gentleman from Virginia if he would be willing--or let me rephrase that--if he would not object to a unanimous consent in the House to make a correction in what was clearly a typographical error made by nonpartisan professional staff at the Leg Counsel's office.

Mr. ISSA. Reclaiming my time, nothing could be more insincere than to pick on professional staff on a typographical error. If we have to go to the Rules Committee, I guess we will. But I am really sorry to see that kind of an attitude on what the gentleman and all of us know was simply a typographical error. With that, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble).

Mr. ISSA. It is amazing that we are hearing that the world will come to an end if we slow down new regulations. With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. ISSA. I trust the gentleman from Missouri is aware that last year, out of over 3,000 regulations coming out of the administration, no more than 66 would have even qualified for this moratorium. With that, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Chairman, it's now my honor to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Guinta).

Mr. ISSA. I thank the Chair. I meant nothing other than I was shocked that the gentleman would say that he would reserve time on what was clearly a typographical error. With that, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble).

Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I never thought I would hear former Chairman Waxman speak in terms of how dysfunctional Congress is, how we just don't operate and can't be trusted; but, clearly, I heard him say that today. I still believe in the institution that all of us belong to. In living up to our responsibility, Congress has the responsibility to pass laws; and it has an absolute obligation to oversee the administration of those laws. The executive branch, or administrative branch, actually, only has the right to create regulations and executive orders to support the laws that have been created. For too long, we have abrogated our responsibility. Former Chairman Waxman apparently would like to continue doing that, in what he said of our low rating and essentially repeating it. Until the unemployment rate reaches 6 percent, taking back just less than 66 out of 3,000 regulations last year and making them accountable either to fall into emergency requirements into specific categories of essential harm or to come to Congress would seem to be a small task. I have no doubt that if the shoe were on the other foot and President Bush was still in office and the Democrats were still in charge, that this bill would look more favorable to them. But that's not what we should be here deciding, who it favors or disfavors. When this bill becomes law, it will, in fact, become law for the future for Democrats and Republican Members alike. The elimination of the ``midnight regulations'' that for so long have been abused by Presidents of both parties, H.R. 4607 absolutely is long overdue. President George W. Bush rushed excess amounts to close before he left. President Obama will, undoubtedly, do the same. That's wrong. It's simply wrong. And we know is. And we know that often, as this bill says, these are regulations that aren't heard before the election and are concluded in those 75 days before departure. It's wrong. We know we need to stop it. We shouldn't abrogate our responsibility. And the Members on the other side will suddenly decide, I'm sure, this is a better idea, should Mitt Romney be elected in the fall. This bill is supported by the Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders & Contractors, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The fact is, this is about simply saying not that we're going to stop 3,000 regulations, but that we're going to slow and evaluate more carefully the 66 largest of them by this administration last year. During debate, the administration was essentially lauded for having passed fewer regulations in numbers than President George W. Bush. I checked that during debate. That's true. But that's because President George W. Bush did regulatory changes to eliminate regulations, and those scored. When you actually look at the cost of regulations under this administration, the cost is dramatically higher. I will share with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that cost is not just dollars and cents, that you have to look at all the benefits. But for too long, we've had ``sue and settle.'' We've had the ability for these determinations to be made without that due process of looking at both sides. So today, as we move this bill, I clearly appreciate the fact that the men and women of my committee--the staff, the hardworking people who never get seen in front of the camera, who, in fact, have worked through 30 hearings, through countless interviews with job creators-- have made sure that the right things are in this bill for the right reason. I urge passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. I thank the gentleman. Would you suggest that we should do both of those?

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 459) to require a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks by the Comptroller General of the United States before the end of 2012, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. ISSA. I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 459, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, directs the GAO to conduct a full audit of the Federal Reserve. The Dodd-Frank legislation mandated a GAO audit of the Fed, but that audit, issued by the Government Accountability Office in July of 2011, focused solely on the issues concerning emergency credit facilities. GAO remains restricted, under the current law, from conducting a broader audit of the Fed that includes, for instance, a review of the Fed's monetary policy operations and its agreements with foreign governments and central banks. The bill remedies this situation by permitting GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, to conduct a nonpartisan audit that will review all of these transactions. The findings of the audit are to be reported to Congress. It is particularly appropriate that we consider this legislation at this time. While Congress should not manage or micromanage details of monetary policy, it needs to be able to conduct oversight of the Fed. The Fed was created by Congress to be a central bank, independent of the influence of the U.S. Treasury. It was never intended to, in fact, be independent of Congress or independent of the American people. In recent years, the Fed's extraordinary interventions into the economy and financial markets have led some to call into question its independence. We do not ask for an audit for that reason. We ask for an audit because the American people ultimately must be able to hold the Fed accountable; and to do so, they must know, at least in retrospect, what the Fed has done over these many years that it has been without an audit. That is why I support H.R. 459, a bipartisan bill with 273 other cosponsors. I urge my colleagues' support, and I reserve the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore