{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=cede3a1a-6c41-4ad3-b615-c5aba743d094", "Senator John Barrasso Delivers Weekly Republican Address", "2015-10-03", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  In the Weekly Republican Address, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming says the Obama Administration is saddling the nation with thousands of costly and burdensome regulations that are driven more by ideology than practicality. In the past six years, the administration has issued more than 2,500 new regulations that are expected to cost the American economy a staggering $680 billion. You might ask, what do Americans get for all this time and money? One of EPAs rules on power plants would cost as much as $2,400 for every $1 in direct benefits. This imbalance is a big reason why Americans wages have been stagnant since President Obama took office, says Barrasso. The Weekly Republican Address is available in both audio and video format and is embargoed until 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, October 3, 2015. The audio of the address is available here, the video will be available here and you may download the address here. A full transcript of the address follows:\r\nHi. Im Dr. John Barrasso, United States Senator for Wyoming.\r\nLet me tell you a story about a family in my home state.\r\nAndy Johnson is 32, he works as a welder. He and his wife Katie have four kids and they live out in the country. They have a few cows and some horses.\r\nTwo years ago, the Johnsons wanted to build a small pond in their front yard.\r\nThey got their plan approved by the state, and used the pond to provide water for their animals.\r\nThey thought it was a beautiful addition to the dry landscape.\r\nThe pond attracts birds and other animals that make our state a special place to live.\r\nEverything was fine until the Johnsons got a visit from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.\r\nEven though the state of Wyoming had approved the pond, the federal government had not.\r\nThe Johnsons now face fines of more than $37,000 every day, until they remove the pond.\r\nThis is whats happened to government in America. Its gotten so aggressive, so inflexible, and so unyielding  and seemingly for so little purpose.\r\nAnd its going to get worse.\r\nThe Obama administration is seizing new authority to control what it calls Waters of the United States.\r\nThis includes things like irrigation ditches, isolated ponds  even low points in the landscape where water might collect after a heavy rain.\r\nThe consequences of this new federal authority will be severe.\r\nLocal land-use decisions will now be driven by Washington bureaucrats.\r\nAnd this new water rule is just one of the thousands of regulations that Washington is churning out.   In the final 15 months of the Obama administration, Washington bureaucrats are working overtime, to finalize new rules on everything from prairie puddles to power plants.\r\nJust this week, the White House released a new ozone rule that will increase electricity costs and decrease reliability.\r\nIn this administrations race to control more of what Americans do every day, it has lost all perspective.   The rules are based on ideology, rather than practicality.\r\nThe result is an explosion of expensive regulations and new federal requirements on hardworking families.\r\nWashingtons assault on Andy Johnson in Wyoming could soon be repeated all across the country.\r\nThe Obama administration has issued more than 2,500 new regulations in the past six years.\r\nComplying with these regulations is expected to cost our economy a staggering $680 billion.\r\nPeople will be forced to spend millions of hours filling out the paperwork.\r\nYou might ask, what do Americans get for all this time and money?\r\nOne of EPAs rules on power plants would cost as much as $2,400 for every $1 in direct benefits.\r\nThis imbalance is a big reason why Americans wages have been stagnant since President Obama took office.\r\nThe costs of these regulations are real.\r\nThey are significant to our economy, to good-paying jobs, and to the ability of Americans to live freely.\r\nThats why Republicans are fighting so hard.\r\nThe White Houses cynical response is that only polluters would oppose these new environmental rules. Im fortunate to live in Wyoming, one of the most beautiful, pristine places in the world.\r\nWe protect fiercely our open spaces, our clean air, and water.\r\nAt the same time, the entire country benefits from our responsible and reliable production of American energy.\r\nWeve proven you can have both.\r\nThe Obama administration long ago left this reasonable objective in the dust.\r\nWhat the administration wont tell you is that both Republicans and Democrats in Congress oppose many of these regulations  including the new rules on Waters of the United States.\r\nSenators Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin  all Democrats  joined us to change these water regulations.\r\nYet commonsense changes to all this rulemaking are being blocked by the president and the liberal Democrat leaders in the Congress.\r\nEven the courts have dealt the Obama administration serious setbacks to its regulatory rampage.\r\nBut by the time the courts finally act, the damage is already done  those jobs are gone, and communities suffer.\r\nThe head of the EPA bragged that it didnt matter if the Obama administration lost in court  because the rules had already been in effect for three years.\r\nThats outrageous.\r\nMeanwhile, the fines against Andy Johnson continue to pile up, and could exceed $16 million.\r\nHis family cannot afford to fight anymore.\r\nJust like the Johnsons in Wyoming, the American people cant afford the overreach and the near-constant onslaught of new Washington regulations.\r\nThis fall, Republicans will put legislation on the presidents desk to rein in runaway regulations. He will have to choose between big government and hardworking Americans.\r\nWeve already made our choice.\r\nThanks for listening.\r\n                                                ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=cede3a1a-6c41-4ad3-b615-c5aba743d094"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0722139850258827, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}