U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-Oh) Holds Hearing On Unfunded Federal Mandates

Extract

---

U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-Oh) Holds Hearing On Unfunded Federal Mandates

U.S. SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT OF GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOLDS A HEARING ON UNFUNDED FEDERAL MANDATES

APRIL 14, 2005

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH (R-OH) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR TED STEVENS (R-AK) U.S. SENATOR NORM COLEMAN (R-MN) U.S. SENATOR TOM COBURN (R-OK) U.S. SENATOR LINCOLN D. CHAFEE (R-RI) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT F. BENNETT (R-UT) U.S. SENATOR PETE W. DOMENICI (R-NM) U.S. SENATOR JOHN W. WARNER (R-VA) U.S. SENATOR SUSAN M. COLLINS (R-ME) EX OFFICIO

U.S. SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA (D-HI) U.S. SENATOR THOMAS R. CARPER (D-DE) U.S. SENATOR MARK DAYTON (D-MN) U.S. SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG (D-NJ) U.S. SENATOR MARK PRYOR (D-AR) U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN (D-CT) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES:

ORICE WILLIAMS DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC ISSUES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

JOHN GRAHAM ADMINISTRATOR OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

ELIZABETH ROBINSON DEPUTY DIRECTOR CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

COLLEEN LANDKAMER COMMISSIONER, BLUE EARTH COUNTY, MINNESOTA, AND FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES

JOHN HURSON DELEGATE MARYLAND HOUSE OF DELEGATES, AND PRESIDENT NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES

NICK LICATA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AND, REPRESENTATIVE, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES

[*] VOINOVICH: The meeting will come to order. Good morning. Thank you all for being here today.

Today the Subcommittee on the Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia meets to examine a subject in which I have long been interested. I am pleased that my colleague and former governor, Senator Carper, is serving as ranking member of this committee. The two of us have been concerned about this a long time.

Today's hearing, entitled "Passing the Buck: A Review of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act," will review UMRA's impact on federal, state, and local governments.

Over the course of my career as a state representative, county auditor, county commissioner, lieutenant governor, mayor and governor, I have seen firsthand how the relationship between the federal government and its state and local counterparts affects our citizens and communities. My experience fuels my passion for federalism.

I understand the importance of balancing the federal government's power with the powers that our Founding Fathers envisioned for the states and that's why, in 1991, as a member of the National Governors' Association, I started a long campaign, with the state and local government coalitions, to curb the practice of federal unfunded mandates.

It's really interesting -- Tom, you'll be interested, -- that at my first governor's meeting, I had this resolution on unfunded mandates. And there was this governor who came over and put his arm around me, and he said, "Partner, Im with you on this," and that was Bill Clinton.

As governor of Ohio, I requested a first-of-its-kind study to examine the impact of unfunded mandates. In the introduction to this report, I noted that: "Too often, federal mandates on the states interfere with one of the most fundamental tasks of government, the setting of priorities. State officials entrusted by the voters with the responsibility to set a course for state government, provide services, and plan for the future, find their ability to do these things constrained by federal directives that take legal or statutory precedence."

According to our findings, between 1992 and 1995 Ohio had unfunded mandates of $1.7 billion. This unique report served three important purposes in the unfunded mandates debate. First, it illustrated the growing mandate problem in my state. Second, it galvanized lobbying efforts of the Big 7 by providing them with evidence that unfunded mandates have a real impact on state and local governments. Finally, it underscored the importance of enacting federal unfunded mandate legislation in Congress.

And, thankfully, state an...

See the full content of this document

---