On the recordFebruary 4, 2015
I rise today to introduce an important piece of regulatory reform legislation. A study released this past fall by the National Association of Manufacturers estimates that U.S. Federal Government regulations imposed over $2 trillion in compliance costs on American businesses in 2012. This is an amount equal to 12 percent of our Nation's GDP. The study also demonstrated--and this should come as no surprise-- that the cost of complying with all those regulations falls disproportionately on small businesses. Small manufacturing firms, in particular, grapple with regulatory compliance costs that are more than three times those felt by the average company in the United States. It is no wonder why many American businesses are shuttering or moving their entire operation overseas. And how many folks dreamed of starting a small business but ultimately decided against taking the risk because of the overwhelming burden and uncertainty of our regulatory state? We have to do better. Small businesses are fed up with excessive Federal regulation, and they are making sure we know about it. A November 2014 survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business asked small business owners across the country to rank the ten most pressing problems they face. Overwhelmingly, the top two answers from small business owners were taxes and complying with government red tape. I am happy to say that this Congress intends to confront these issues head-on.…
