Should federal agencies disclose indirect costs of proposed rules on small businesses?
H.R. 7198 requires agencies to assess and disclose potential indirect costs of proposed rules on small entities and allows small businesses to petition the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy for review of agency certifications that claim a proposed rule lacks significant economic impact. Additionally, the bill mandates the publication of relevant guidance and documents to ensure accessibility for small businesses and establishes review procedures for agency compliance with regulatory review requirements.
Sponsor: Rep. Brad Finstad (Republican, Minnesota, District 1)
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Opponents say
• "H.R. 7198 imposes a series of requirements on regulatory agencies, and provides substantial authority to the Chief Counsel of a little-known office at the Small Business Administration, that would empower large companies and undermine the regulatory process that keeps Americans safe. Regulatory agencies write rules designed to protect our food supply, environment, physical infrastructure, and more. These regulations safeguard the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. While efforts to ease burdens on small businesses can be useful, they should not prevent regulators from doing their jobs in the public interest. The Prove It Act, under the guise of helping small businesses, would give powerful special interests an effective veto over whole swathes of regulations. The bill would task a single official in the Small Business Administration with responding to petitions to review agency rules. As structured, the law could allow big trade associations to game the system and flood the SBA with more challenges to regulations than it can possibly review under its current structure. The chaos that would result would subject important rules to delays and uncertainty while doing nothing to help small businesses." Source: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, New York, District 12), Dissenting Opinion
Proponents say
• "As a small business owner, I know firsthand that southern Minnesota’s family-owned businesses need less government regulation from Washington bureaucrats, not more. The Prove It Act makes sure our small businesses aren’t saddled with unnecessary and overburdensome regulatory mandates, which is why I am proud to introduce this important, bipartisan legislation with my colleagues today." Source: Rep. Brad Finstad (Republican, Minnesota, District 1)
• "Job Creators Network applauds Representatives Finstad, Caraveo, and Moran for introducing this legislation that would provide needed relief to small businesses contending with overregulation. Their bill would protect small businesses from executive overreach by finally meaningfully holding government bureaucrats accountable for considering the small business impact of new regulations before they are imposed. And it would empower small businesses and their defenders to challenge certifications claiming proposed rules don't significantly impact small businesses. Representatives Finstad, Caraveo, and Moran's legislation would fulfill a key pillar of Job Creators Network's American Small Business Prosperity Plan by reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses." Source: Alfredo Ortiz, President and CEO of Job Creators Network.
