January 31, 2023
Navigating Onerous Fees: One Indiana Member's Story

Unlike traditional wheelchairs that were never designed to be used in a prison environment, Dr. Hermes’ invention is lightweight yet durable, constructed of a unique molded synthetic that cannot be fashioned into weapons.
For registration fees, the Food and Drug Administration classifies Jane’s small business alongside big corporations with thousands of employees. The FDA collects user fees from companies that produce medical devices to offset its budget. The FDA has negotiated a rapidly increasing user fee schedule for applications with big businesses – leaving small businesses like Dr. Hermes’ with a giant bill. Jane’s application user fee – which has increased 160% since 2013 – is the same as the likes of Johnson & Johnson, putting the squeeze on the smallest of small businesses and making it hard for many to stay in business. “The fees are ridiculous! It’s not fair. You can explain this to anyone and in 90 seconds they understand how unfair it is,” said Dr. Hermes. NFIB worked with Jane and the offices of Senator Mike Braun, Senator Maggie Hassan, Congressman Larry Buschon, and Congressman John Yamuth to secure a small business fee waiver process in the most recent user fee reauthorization. Through collaboration and perseverance, members of Congress learned about the FDA’s onerous application fee schedule and why it was unfair to small business owners. Finally, ensuring that Congress heard her voice and her small business story, they produced a compromise solution.
Dr. Hermes’ plastic wheelchairs weigh in at just 34 pounds, making traveling, maneuvering, and transportation simple and convenient.
“NFIB helped me negotiate the bureaucracy of the federal government, where it is nearly impossible to have your voice heard. I learned that if you don’t speak out and tell your story, Congress won’t listen. Many have no idea what it takes to run small business and, if they don’t understand, then they can’t make informed decisions when they vote on legislation that can make or break a small business owner. My work isn’t done yet – I will continue to rely on NFIB to help on this issue until its resolved: small business owners should have a tiered user fee, where large corporations pay more than a small operation like mine.”NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.
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