mr. barrr is simple and one that i hope both sides of the aisle will support. if it decreases employment or wages by 1%, it will be subject to heightend review and additional transparency requirement. the amendment requires that agency heads to certify that they knowingly approved a rule that will result in lost jobs or reduced wages. the principle is simple. if federal bureaucrats are going to implement rules that take wages or jobs from americans, they should take responsibility for their decisions. it is important that washington bureaucrats think through all of these things. bureaucratic elites are regulating solid, good-paying jobs out of existence. at a time when wages are stagnant for american workers and we so desperately need to add jobs to the economy, this is unbelievable. on february 7, i had the privilege of traveling underground to learn more about the work and operations about a mine in my district. mine terse work hard to power our electric grid and supply our steel mills. but

mr. barrow for two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. barrow: i thank you, madam chairman, and i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam chairman, i rise in support of h.r. 2804, the all economic regulations are transparent, or alert act, of 2013, and in support of the miller-courtney amendment. i'm pleased that this legislation includes the regulatory flexibility improvements act, a bill for which i am an original co-sponsor, with my republican colleague from alabama, mr. bachus. there are 30 million small businesses in america and they employ over half of our work force. these are companies in my district liar sarah's in the city or a cafe in augusta. every day they help american families and drive commerce. i rise in support of the miller-courtney amendment. in february of 2008, 14 people were killed and 40 people were injured in a combustible dust explosion at the imperial sugar refinery in georgia. since then i worked with my colleague, mr. m

mr. barr: thank you. this legislation is about holding washington accountable. the bureau of consumer financial protection is one of the most powerful and unaccountable agencies in the entire federal government. unfortunately, the bureau reaches deeply into the everyday lives of kentuckians. in following its partisan ageneral dark the bureau makes it harder for small business osen -- businesses on main street to get a loan and grow their businesses. it makes it hard for families in kentucky to purchase a home. it makes it harder to get financing discounts to help kentuckians purchase a car or truck. the bureau is so out of touch it even regulates bath county in my district, one of the most rural counties in america, as, quote, nonrural. these concerns are not only voiced inside of washington. -- a small was business owner talked about how the rules are hrming his ability to do business in his community this avalanche of red tape is making life harder for millions of american which is is why we need to pass this legislation that will reform the bureau in a way th

mr. barr: the president described an economy which inequality has deepened and upward mobility has stalled. unfortunately in many respects, he's right. the poor are worse off today than they were when president obama took office. nearly seven million more americans live in poverty today as compared to 2008. a record 47 million americans receive food stamps. 13 million more than when president obama assumed office. median household income has fallen. over $2,000 in the last four years. 76% of americans live paycheck to paycheck and the percentage working-aged people has dropped to the lowest rate. 92 million americans are not part of the work force, either not employed or not actively looking for work. they are so frustrated with the obama economy, they have just given up. when taking account workers who are unemployed but want a job, workers who are working part-time jobs, the jobless rate is over 13%. mr. speaker, five years after this president took office, the state of the union is not stro

. >> the chair recognizes from kentucky, mr. barr. >> just a follow-up mr. pitt jersey last question, this was a subject i was exploring with chair yellen a little bit that i'd like your thoughts on this. obviously as the fed begins to taper continues to taper the asset purchase program and as interest rates begin to normalize and elevate, the cost of bartering to the government is going to rise. what counsel do you have to congress in terms of the urgency and the time sensitivity of getting our fiscal house in order in light of fed monetary policy and tapering and the impact that will have uncovered the cost of borrowing. >> so i think this is more a medium to longer term problem, but it is important to act soon because this is a problem having to do with what people are going to count on in terms of support for their health care, support their income when they retire. so in order to do with a problem that is coming and 10, 15, 20 years, if you're going to reduce the trajectory of the support of me got to do it now. it's not fair to do to people who are goi

chair now recognizes gentleman from kentucky mr. barr for five minutes. >> thank you madam chair. congratulations on your appointment. thank you for your generosity with time particularly for those of us who are at the end of the line of questioners. madam chair you have stressed in your written and in your verbal testimony here today the feds statutory mandate of maximum employment. should the injection of fiscal policy also be to maximize employment? >> fiscal policy has many different objectives. it affects the economy in a whole variety of different ways. and so i wouldn't have stated that that's the main goal of fiscal policy. but it is a goal that fiscal policy should take into account. >> last week, as you know the congressional budget office issued this report and that report projected that the president's health care law will reduce the size of the u.s. labor force by 2.5 million full-time equivalent workers over the next decade. that's triple what the cbo originally projected after congress passed obama care three or four years ago. in commenting on that report, cbo dire

barrow: i thank the gentlelady and i appreciate her -- mr. barr: i thank the gentlelady and i appreciate her leadership and for organizing this special order and her leadership in highlighting a real problem in our country right now. you know, the president of the united states the other night in the state of the union made an observation. and the president's observation was one where he described an economy in which inequality has deepened and upward mobility has stalled. and unfortunately in many respects, the president is right. but he's wrong about what -- about what has caused that problem to exist in our economy. the truth is a major reason why upward mobility has stalled is because the environmental protection agency under his direction has produced a deluge of red tape and regulations that are literally strangling the nation's economy. the poor are worse off today than they were when president obama took office. seven million more americans live in poverty today as compared to 2008. median household income has fallen over $2,000 in the las

mr. alfano, the new right party, will try to raise the barr when it comes to drafting the new agenda, the new government and whether mr. renzi will have to compromise a lot, again, remains to be seen. we are optimistic on this, but we also know -- with respect to asset prices in italy, well, i think short term, the changeover in government should not have any major impact. it's more important to see that on friday there was moody's bringing its rating out back to neutral. i know global funding, possible government and possible improving in the economic funding. this in the short term is going to drive the market. mr. renzi can make a difference with the perception of italy's long-term goal potential if he's a reform mat is successful. >> thank you for that. >>> now abenomics has hit si set back in japan as gdp missed its mark. they're all holding back the economy with just .3% in the fourth quarter. they're expecting a gain of .7. this data comes as the bank of japan meets for a two-day policy meeting although it's unlikely to meet its mark. joining us from tokyo, the chief economist for

mr. chairman, i would reiterate that the right way to address the concern about the impact of regulations on jobs, to join me in supporting the rothfus-barr amendment that would make sure that agencies do a much better job of identifying adverse job impacts before they impose them on the businesses and individuals that have to make the tough decisions to close businesses like the family that manufactures bricks. they have to eliminate 2/3 of the jobs in their business because of repeated government regulations, making it less and less likely that they can grow their business, much less add jobs and are facing the loss of jobs and possibly the loss of the business altogether. the way to do this is to figure out the impact on jobs before you impose the regulation and that's what the barr-rothfus amendment does, i support that i oppose this and i yield back. the chair: all time having expired, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. ms. jackson lee: mr. chairman, i request a recorded vote. t