This week, the House of Representatives passed two pieces of legislation aimed at cutting back the regulatory burden on American businesses. The two bills, H.R. 527 the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act and H.R. 3010 the Regulatory Accountability Act, passed with bipartisan support. H.R. 527 would amend the Regulatory Flexibility Act to close loopholes and reduce the burden of over-regulation on small businesses. H.R. 3010 amends the Administrative Procedure Act to require federal agencies to assess the costs and benefits of regulatory alternatives and then to choose the least-costly alternative. In addition, it increases transparency by requiring more advanced notice for proposed rules and more opportunity for public comment. Congressman Westmoreland supported both bills. Below is his statement.
“Small businesses are the number one job creators. But at a time when more than 13 million Americans are unemployed and we need those small businesses generating jobs, the Obama Administration has increased the number of rules that affect small businesses by 14 percent. And the cost of complying with all of these new regulations – and the ones that are already on the books – disproportionately harms small businesses. In fact, of the Obama Administration’s 410 major rules enacted in the last two years, 200 are expected to cost the American economy more than $100 million each and seven are expected to cost the economy more than $1 billion each. And even more shocking, according to the Small Business Administration, total federal regulations cost the American economy $1.75 trillion annually.
“Because of these enormous costs and the uncertainty surrounding so many new regulations coming out of Washington on a daily basis, employers have stopped hiring, stopped spending, and stopped expanding. As our unemployment rate continues to hover above eight percent, Washington should be working to create jobs, not kill them. That’s why House Republicans have been working to lift the regulatory burden on small businesses – so we can help them put Americans back to work. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to take up these bipartisan bills as soon as possible,” stated Westmoreland.
