Washington, DC – Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on S. 389, the Mandates Information Act. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 3, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. in SD-342 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The Mandates Information Act would extend key requirements of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to mandates imposed on the private sector.
“State and local governments have benefited greatly from the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, which discourages Congress from imposing expensive new mandates without paying for them. It is time to extend these protections to small businesses and other hard working Americans, and the Mandates Information Act, introduced by Senator Abraham, does just that,” said Thompson.
“The Mandates Information Act will provide better information on the burdens that new legislation places on the private sector, which in turn will allow Congress to legislate more responsibly,” Thompson added.
Witnesses at the hearing are expected to include:
– Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI), the sponsor of S. 389;
– Representatives Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Condit (D-CA), the sponsors of the House companion bill;
– James Blum, deputy director of the Congressional Budget Office;
– a representative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and
– Sharon Buccino, legislative counsel at the Natural Resources Defense Council.