www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric Reller
202-314-2073 or [email protected]
NFIB Cheers Small
Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act Passage
Small Businesses List Regulatory Reform As A Top
Priority
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 5,
2015 — The National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) is commending passage of NFIB Key Vote, H.R. 527, the
Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015.
“By
bringing in the small business perspective early on in the rulemaking process,
agencies can create better regulations,” said NFIB Vice President of Public Policy Amanda Austin. “Small
businesses know how they operate in real life and can provide feedback so that agencies
achieve their goals without the unintended disruptions of overly and
unnecessarily complex regulations. Focusing on simplifying the current
administrative headache caused by bundles of red tape will benefit the process
– and by extension all parties involved.”
This
legislation reforms the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) by requiring
government regulators to include the indirect impact in their assessment of a
regulation’s overall impact on small businesses. In addition, it gives small
businesses a greater voice in the rulemaking process by expanding the small
business advocacy review panel process to all agencies and strengthens several
other aspects of the RFA – such as clarifying the standard for periodic review
of rules by federal agencies.
According
to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of
Advocacy, the Regulatory Flexibility Act saved small
businesses at least $4.8 billion in compliance costs in fiscal year 2014.
Strengthening and expanding the RFA will yield even greater economic benefits
to small businesses.
In NFIB’s
most recent Small Business
Economic Trends survey, ‘government requirements and red tape’ ranked
as the second-most frequent answer when NFIB members were asked to identify the
single most important issue facing their small business. NFIB strongly supported
this legislation as an important step toward ensuring that federal regulations
do not thwart the ability of small businesses to innovate and grow.
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NFIB
is the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, with offices in
Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 to give
small-business owners a voice in public policy-making, NFIB’s policy positions
are set by its 350,000 business-owner members, who send their views directly to
state and federal lawmakers through NFIB’s unique member-only ballot. NFIB’s
mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and
grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/news.
