More regulatory relief may be coming down the pipeline. The White House plans to reveal more plans for deregulation this week that will benefit the U.S. manufacturing industry, with a focus on the EPA’s permits, worker safety, and labor rules, according to Reuters.
After soliciting advice and consulting with business leaders, including NFIB, for three months, the Commerce Department compiled a “hit list” of recommendations to streamline regulations and to improve growth within the manufacturing industry.
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The Commerce Department received 171 public comments on rules to change, repeal, or reject. Many demanded reform on EPA permits, like the air quality rules for new facilities, or the impending restrictions on ozone rules under the U.S. Clean Air Act. NFIB recommended changes to an OSHA “walk around rule” that was rescinded earlier this year.
Manufacturing leaders have complained that the Clean Air Act’s permitting rules are redundant and complex and that the EPA’s review requirements are too costly and would interrupt expansion. Industry representatives also called for reform to labor regulations that extend overtime eligibility to more employees, ease union organizing, and control workplace injury reporting.
The variety of complaints is extensive, but the process analyzed environmental regulations from the Obama administration that are still in the works. NFIB remains hopeful about this week’s plan after the Trump administration’s recent dismantling of his predecessor’s environmental regulations, like the EPA’s WOTUS rule and the Clean Power Plan.
Regulatory reform is needed after NFIB’s small business optimism index showed an 8-point decline in expected business conditions in April. “The drop in expected business conditions should be a warning to Washington that health care reform, regulatory reform, and tax reform have implications far bigger than politics,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan.
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