Henry Waxman: “that chart that says ``current law'' it seems to me is quite misleading, because nowhere in that chart does the…”

“that chart that says ``current law'' it seems to me is quite misleading, because nowhere in that chart does the gentleman indicate that just 2 years ago the Congress passed, and we all voted for it and heralded it as a great improvement, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. That law, which is called SBREFA, was passed with strong bipartisan support. It calls on the agencies to use discretion not to impose civil penalties where there are other circumstances that ought to be factored in. It seems to me that should be reflected in the reality of current law. ... But as case after case has demonstrated, the agencies are refusing to use that discretion. They continue to impose the civil penalties. The key difference between SBREFA and our law is that we take it the next step. We say, by right the small agencies can correct the mistakes, unless it causes harm, threatens to cause harm, violates the Internal Revenue Service, would impede criminal detection, or is not corrected in 6 months.”