John Sweeney

Mr. SWEENEY

Mr. SWEENEY. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds), for yielding me time. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of H.R. 391. As a new Member I sought appointment to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Paperwork Reduction of the Committee on Small Business in order to pursue this very type of relief for our hard working small business people. I happen to represent a district in upstate New York where the predominant employers are represented by the small business community, so this is an important measure for my constituents. We know that small businesses are the driving force behind our strong economy, yet they are forced to shoulder nearly two-thirds of the regulatory costs. As has already been stated, total regulatory costs to businesses in 1998 exceeded $700 billion, with paperwork accounting for $229 billion, an astonishing one-third of all costs of regulations. Madam Speaker, I have real experience in this area. By way of example, I would like to relate to this distinguished body an experience of mine as a former regulator in the State of New York where I served as Labor Commissioner. As I said, I was a regulator in the state, and, along with the New York State Tax Commissioner, we sat down and compared the forms that the two of us required of the employer community. Laid out in front of the conference room table in my office were 25 forms on which the State Tax Department and the State Labor Department were asking employers to fill out important information. What we found on those forms is that we had a number of areas of duplication. After laying out those forms on the table and physically highlighting those areas of duplication, we literally found ourselves faced with a sea of yellow. The seemingly simple exercise allowed us to consolidate those 25 forms into just two forms. I am also proud to say in my tenure as State Labor Commissioner we were able to cut the regulatory burden to the employer community by 50 percent, and yet our worker safety numbers, our safety numbers, were increased because we were able to more smartly apply our resources and dedicate our efforts to ensure safety. Madam Speaker, think about the time and the productivity saved by this act. Small business owners inherently fear unknown regulations and paperwork, a situation which discourages business start-ups, expansions and job growth. This bill provides a positive step in changing the punitive manner in which agencies seek regulatory compliance. It provides for a suspension of civil penalties for first-time paperwork violations of small businesses, as long as the violation does not result in harm, impede the detection of criminal activity, or threaten public health or safety. It is called voluntary compliance. It is an effort we used in New York very successfully, and, as I said, and I will repeat, we increased our safety numbers. Madam Speaker, small business people deserve to work with regulatory agencies in a proactive manner and should not live in fear of the ``gotcha'' approach of achieving regulatory compliance. This bill also requires the publication of all Federal paperwork requirements on small businesses and establishes, very importantly so, a single agency point of contact for paperwork information, allowing small business to anticipate the otherwise unknown paperwork hurdles they must clear in launching new business ventures and in turn creating new jobs. I again praise the work of the bill's sponsors. I thank my friend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) for affording me this time on behalf of the 22 small businesses, and urge passage of this important bill.

Mr. SWEENEY

Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me the time. Mr. Chairman, I want to express what a great joy it is for me to come to the well of the House for the first time and speak in support of such important legislation, on one that highlights our commitment to keeping Federal mandates off the backs of our hardworking citizens, one that promotes a more open Congress that makes the most informed decisions possible, and one that raises the level of accountability of our elected representatives for the mandates they impose on our business men and women and on our local communities. For these reasons, I rise in strong support of the Mandates Information Act and commend the bipartisan sponsors of this bill and the Committee on Rules for bringing this legislation to the floor today. My past experience as a labor commissioner in New York State has taught me the hard lessons and the burdensome costs of regulations on people and on jobs in my State. In 3 years of steadfast work in unraveling the web of State regulations, we were able to alleviate $1.7 billion in compliance costs to New Yorkers, staggering costs to businesses, farmers, and individuals that were never envisioned when the regulations were first enacted and that cost my State hundreds and thousands of jobs. Mr. Chairman, the same principles apply here today. In the rush to achieve the benefits of society envisioned in all legislation, it is too easy to ignore the cost of such mandates. Let us not kid ourselves. These regulations are hidden taxes on businesses and individuals. We owe it to the citizens to know in advance the hidden costs to the public of any legislation before this Congress and to have an honest, focused debate on those costs before they are imposed on the American people. This bill ensures that happens. I am proud to urge my colleagues' support on this common sense bill.

Mr. SWEENEY

Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, my newly confirmed colleagues of the 106th Congress. I am truly honored to be here today joining this distinguished group of Americans from across our great nation. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the U.S. Capitol today with these Members of the 106th Congress is an honor exceeded only by that of representing the wonderful people of the 22nd District of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am truly humbled by the awesome responsibility and I am invigorated by the challenge before me--to carry on the tradition of my esteemed predecessor, Jerry Solomon, and to advance policies beneficial to the 600,000 people I now represent. Today is a day dominated by idealistic visions and profound rhetoric. While I bring with me today the ideals of freedom and opportunity, I am riveted in the reality that these notions must be translated into concrete results in people's everyday life. Bringing tax relief to hard working families, promoting economic development to create new job opportunities, taking significant steps to ensure a safe and drug-free environment in our schools--All these examples make a difference in the homes of the people of the Hudson Valley and Adirondack Mountains of New York and all will be my priorities as I take the oath of office today. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my family, those that are here today and those that could not make the trip, for all their love and support as we begin this new endeavor. I would like to thank Congressman Solomon a truly great American, for his two decades of dedicated and tireless service to the citizens of the 22nd District of New York. And thank you to those same citizens that have entrusted me to advance their views here in the U.S. Capitol.

Mr. SWEENEY

Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, on the opening day of the 106th Congress, I respectfully request that all of my colleagues contact Congressman Duke Cunningham's office to cosponsor the Flag Protection Amendment. For more than 100 years, Americans have crafted laws to protect the American flag from physical desecration--until 1989, when on a 5-4 vote the Supreme Court denied them that right to protect the eternal symbol of freedom and democracy. Across our country, our citizens have voiced loud and clear that Congress must enact the constitutional amendment that restores that right to protect the flag. 82% of Americans support it, 49 states have passed resolutions calling for it, 310 House Members responded in the 105th Congress to pass it, and 61 Senators cosponsored the Senate bill that came just a few votes shy of restoring the power to protect the flag that has been denied for the past nine years. The 106th Congress must follow through and make the Flag Protection Amendment a reality.