NFIB Submits Testimony on Importance of Agency Compliance of Regulatory Flexibility Act

June 22, 2023

NFIB Submits Testimony on Importance of Agency Compliance of Regulatory Flexibility Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2023) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, submitted testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business for its hearing today titled, “Reviewing the SBA’s Office of Advocacy Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act.” The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) was unanimously passed in Congress and signed into law by President Carter in 1980 to reduce the impact of government regulations on small businesses. “Unreasonable government regulations have consistently been ranked a top business problem by small business owners,” said Josh McLeod, NFIB Manager of Federal Government Relations. “The RFA was created to consider what effects proposed regulations have on small businesses. Unfortunately, government agencies have failed to use RFA compliance and examine the economic costs of the regulations. We encourage Congress to strengthen the RFA to ensure the intent of the law is fulfilled and the small business perspective is considered.” NFIB recently released a White Paper titled, “The Regulatory Flexibility Act: Turning a Paper Tiger into a Legitimate Constraint on One-Size-Fits-All Agency Rulemaking.” The paper explores the RFA and its purpose to protect small businesses from one-size-fits-all rulemaking, the lack of RFA compliance by administrative agencies, and what today’s Congress can do to reinvigorate the RFA. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has highlighted 28 instances where agencies have failed to adequately examine the economic costs of regulations. By doing so, small businesses are subject to the very one-size-fits-all regulatory environment the RFA intended to correct.

Topics:

Regulations

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