For Immediate Release
Andrew Wimer, 202-314-2073 or 703-298-5938 (cell)
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Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Considers Two NFIB-Supported Bills
Washington,
DC (July 29, 2015) – The National Federation of Independent Business supports bipartisan
measures to improve the rulemaking process and review outdated federal
regulations that will be marked up today by the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee. Small business owners consistently rate
government requirements and red tape as one of the most important issues facing
their business.
“Small
business owners struggle to keep up with all of the existing and new
regulations coming from federal, state and local governments,” said Amanda
Austin, NFIB Vice President of Public Policy. “They want to focus on
growing their business, but instead find themselves filling out paperwork and
worrying about fines. We appreciate that there are Republican, Democrat and
Independent Senators working to make government think more carefully about the
flood of rules.”
Nearly
90 percent of NFIB’s members employ fewer than 20 workers. According to a study
by two Lafayette College professors, businesses of this size spend $2,641 more
than bigger businesses spend to comply with federal regulations. Most small
business owners cannot afford to employ a dedicate human resources or
regulatory compliance specialist.
S.
708, the Regulatory Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Angus King (I-ME) would
create an independent federal Regulatory Improvement Commission that would
review potentially outdated regulations and make suggestions for revisions by
Congress. S. 1607, the Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act, sponsored by
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) would subject independent agencies to some of the same
regulatory requirements that executive agencies follow today. These bills are
co-sponsored by Senators on both sides of the aisle.
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