July 15, 2008
The Honorable Henry Waxman, Chairman
The Honorable Tom Davis, Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member:
On behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's leading small business advocacy group, I am writing to express our strong support for the Paperwork Assistance Act (H.R. 6113), legislation requiring federal agencies to include a contact telephone number in all government paperwork. NFIB members have a long history of supporting paperwork reduction efforts and we appreciate the Committee's consideration of this important legislation.
In our June/July 2007 Member Ballot, 85 percent of NFIB members surveyed supported a Congressional requirement that all federal paperwork include contact information of the agency requesting the information. Additionally, in our recently completed 2008 Small Business Problems and Priorities survey, NFIB members rated federal paperwork as a top concern. NFIB publishes this survey every four years and this issue has consistently ranked as a leading small business problem since the survey's inception in 1992.
According to NFIB's Research Foundation, the average per-hour cost of paperwork, record-keeping and dealing with the mandates imposed by federal, state and local governments for small businesses is $48.72. Due to the sheer volume and complexity of federal regulations, even the most diligent small business-owner may inadvertently make an error or miss deadlines associated with government paperwork. That is why government regulations, and the paperwork they generate, should be as simple as possible.
The Paperwork Assistance Act would provide small business owners with easy access to federal agencies for assistance and guidance with government paperwork. The less time small businesses spend with "government overhead," the more they can spend growing their business, employing more people and growing America's economy.
I want to commend you for your leadership on this important issue. Thank you for your continued support of America's small businesses.
Sincerely,
Dan Danner
Executive Vice President
Federal Public Policy and Political
