Lummis Statement on House Passage of the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act

Statement

U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) issued the following statement today in support of H.R. 527, The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, which will take strong measures to cut red tape and reign in federal regulations that overreach and impose excessive costs on America's job creators.

"Small business owners agree that eliminating burdensome government regulations is the key to creating jobs. It's no wonder; I have a stack of new federal rules over nine feet tall in my office that have been issued so far in 2011. America's small businesses, the engine of our nation's economy, are being buried under Washington's red tape. That's why it's important that the Senate and President Obama take up H.R. 527, The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, which will get to the business of addressing runaway regulations, and in turn, lower the burden on small businesses. Washington must stop wrapping our economy in red tape and free our country's job creators to spend more, invest, and put Americans back to work."

"Bringing more accountability to the federal rulemaking process is a top priority for small businesses, and passing the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act is central to that effort," said NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner. "Continuing to hamper the country's biggest job creators with punishing new rules is the last thing government agencies should be doing during these tough economic times. This bill improves transparency and gives small businesses a greater stake in the regulatory process, and I thank Representative Lummis for her vote in support of these common-sense reforms."

BACKGROUND:

H.R. 527: The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act:

· Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act to curb costs and overreach.

· Closes loopholes in those laws, which ensures that agencies will fully account for the effects of new regulations on small businesses before they adopt them.

· Strengthens requirements that agencies review and improve existing regulations to lower the burden on small business.

· Enhances the Small Business Administration's ability to comment on and help shape major rules, assures uniform implementation of the law across all agencies and improves judicial review.

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