Shedding Some Light Hearing Committee on the Judiciary
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MIDNIGHT RULEMAKING: SHEDDING SOME LIGHT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 2009 Serial No. 111–2 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://judiciary.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 47–033 PDF WASHINGTON : 2009 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:29 May 21, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 H:\WORK\COMM\020409\47033.000 HJUD1 PsN: 47033 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan, Chairman HOWARD L. BERMAN, California LAMAR SMITH, Texas RICK BOUCHER, Virginia F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., JERROLD NADLER, New York Wisconsin ROBERT C. ‘‘BOBBY’’ SCOTT, Virginia HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina ELTON GALLEGLY, California ZOE LOFGREN, California BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California MAXINE WATERS, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia ROBERT WEXLER, Florida STEVE KING, Iowa STEVE COHEN, Tennessee TRENT FRANKS, Arizona HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas Georgia JIM JORDAN, Ohio PEDRO PIERLUISI, Puerto Rico TED POE, Texas LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah BRAD SHERMAN, California TOM ROONEY, Florida TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin GREGG HARPER, Mississippi CHARLES A. GONZALEZ, Texas ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York ADAM B. SCHIFF, California LINDA T. SA´ NCHEZ, California DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Florida DANIEL MAFFEI, New York [Vacant] PERRY APELBAUM, Staff Director and Chief Counsel SEAN MCLAUGHLIN, Minority Chief of Staff and General Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW STEVE COHEN, Tennessee, Chairman WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts TRENT FRANKS, Arizona MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina JIM JORDAN, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California DANIEL MAFFEI, New York J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia ZOE LOFGREN, California HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., STEVE KING, Iowa Georgia ROBERT C. ‘‘BOBBY’’ SCOTT, Virginia JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan MICHONE JOHNSON, Chief Counsel DANIEL FLORES, Minority Counsel (II) VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:29 May 21, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 H:\WORK\COMM\020409\47033.000 HJUD1 PsN: 47033 C O N T E N T S FEBRUARY 4, 2009 Page OPENING STATEMENTS The Honorable Steve Cohen, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennessee, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Commercial and Adminis- trative Law ........................................................................................................... 1 The Honorable Trent Franks, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Ad- ministrative Law .................................................................................................. 18 WITNESSES The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 22 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 24 Mr. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Waterkeeper Alliance Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 26 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 30 Dr. Gary D. Bass, Ph.D., Executive Director, OMB Watch Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 177 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 179 Ms. Lynn Rhinehart, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 198 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 200 Dr. Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 209 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 211 Mr. Michael Abramowicz, Professor, George Washington University Law School Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 236 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 237 Dr. Curtis W. Copeland, Ph.D., Specialist in American National Government, Government and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 243 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 245 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING Letter from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and FreedomWorks, sub- mitted by the Honorable Steve Cohen, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennesse, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ............................................................................................. 3 Prepared Statement of Earthjustice, submitted by the Honorable Steve Cohen, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennesse, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ............... 4 Prepared Statement of the Honorable Trent Franks, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, Member, Committee on the Judiciary, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ........................................................................................................................ 19 (III) VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:29 May 21, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\WORK\COMM\020409\47033.000 HJUD1 PsN: 47033 IV Page Prepared Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, and Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ........................................................................................................................ 21 Article from The Des Moines Register, dated Tuesday, May 14, 2002, sub- mitted by the Honorable Steve King, a Representative in Congress from the State of Iowa, and Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Adminis- trative Law ........................................................................................................... 162 Article from The Des Moines Register, dated April 10, 2002, submitted by the Honorable Steve King, a Representative in Congress from the State of Iowa, and Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ........................................................................................................................ 164 APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD Prepared Statement of David M. Mason, Visiting Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, submitted by the Honorable Trent Franks, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law ........................................................... 266 Article from Consumer Freedom, submitted by the Honorable Steve King, a Representative in Congress from the State of Iowa, and Member, Sub- committee on Commercial and Administrative Law ......................................... 271 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Waterkeeper Alliance ........................................................................................... 272 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Gary D. Bass, Ph.D., Executive Director, OMB Watch .......................................................................................... 276 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Lynn Rhinehart, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO ................................................................................................ 282 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University .................... 286 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Michael Abramowicz, Professor, George Washington University Law School ....................................................... 296 Response to Post-Hearing Questions from Curtis W. Copeland, Ph.D., Spe- cialist in American National Government, Government and Finance Divi- sion, Congressional Research Service ................................................................. 300 VerDate Aug 31 2005 11:29 May 21, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\WORK\COMM\020409\47033.000 HJUD1 PsN: 47033 MIDNIGHT RULEMAKING: SHEDDING SOME LIGHT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2009 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington,