WASHINGTON-House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) today issued the following statements on several of President Biden’s initial executive orders.
Burying Small Businesses in Red Tape
“President Biden is signaling the start of a regulatory, red tape regime over American small businesses. President Trump’s regulatory reforms helped launch the greatest boom in jobs and economic growth in modern times. Tossing them aside and decreeing more government intrusion will only raise new barriers to job creation for American workers and hurt small businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic. Unnecessary government regulations impose crushing burdens and do nothing but slow innovation and recovery. President Trump created the best economy in the world by limiting bureaucratic regulations and President Biden should seek to build on this success instead of diminishing it. Government does not know best, the American people do."
Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline
“The Keystone XL project has been through a decade of extensive environmental reviews and was set to create thousands of good jobs while providing affordable energy for all Americans. President Biden’s decision to scrap the initiative is tossing aside years of environmental process in favor of a radical job-killing agenda. Now is the time to prioritize critical infrastructure that keeps American energy production strong, American workers employed, and our economy resilient for years to come."
Reentering the Paris Agreement
“The Paris Agreement has always been a disaster for the United States. President Biden’s decision to reenter the Paris agreement disadvantages the United States to the sole benefit of our adversaries. This will leave Americans to shoulder the costs of higher energy bills, lower wages, fewer jobs, and bleak economic production while countries like China revel in and benefit from our downfall. The United States has proven we can grow our economy and energy sectors while also reducing carbon emissions. Instead of rejoining a flawed agreement, America should continue to innovate and harness our full energy potential to create a more clean, affordable, and diverse supply."
Allowing Illegal Immigrants to Dilute Americans’ Representation in Congress
“American citizens deserve proper representation in Congress, yet President Biden is diminishing and devaluing their voices by allowing illegal immigrants to be included in the apportionment count from the 2020 Census. Every resident in the U.S. was and will be counted in the 2020 Census to ensure proper federal resources are allocated, but apportionment should only count those legally in the country. Counting illegal immigrants in congressional representation is unfair to the American people."
Reducing Immigration Enforcement and Border Security
“For decades, Americans have suffered from administrations failing to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders. This failure allowed millions of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States without consequence and encouraged more to come here in violation of our nation’s laws. Today’s orders abandon the recent success of President Trump’s America First agenda and return us to the failed policies of the Obama-era that only encourage more illegal immigration and make our country less secure. This is not the way forward. Our immigration laws need to be enforced, not abandoned. We need to strengthen border security, not diminish it."
Rejoining the World Health Organization
“Having the United States rejoin the World Health Organization without it undergoing serious reforms is foolish. From the very start of the coronavirus pandemic, the WHO and Secretary-General Tedros have proven that their priority has been to abet the Chinese government at the expense of the American people and the rest of the world. While China spread misinformation so it could hoard medical supplies, the WHO parroted China’s lies denying human to human transmission of the virus and Tedros praised them for their transparency. Until the WHO undergoes much needed reforms, American taxpayers should not subsidize an organization that has acted as Communist China’s propaganda outlet at every turn."
Allowing Critical Race Theory in the Federal Workplace
“President Biden speaks of national unity but allowing destructive ideologies like critical race theory in the federal workplace is divisive and not a good use of taxpayer dollars. We should seek to unify America, not divide it further. All men and women are created equal and the federal workplace must be an inclusive place. This is something all Americans agree on. But using American taxpayer dollars to advance a radical, woke agenda designed to stir disdain for American values has no place in our federal agencies."
