Joni Ernst: “I rise today to seek unanimous consent to confirm Casey Mulligan, the President's nominee to be the chief counsel of the…”

“I rise today to seek unanimous consent to confirm Casey Mulligan, the President's nominee to be the chief counsel of the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration. I will make that motion in just a moment, but first, let me explain why I am doing this. This week is National Small Business Week, a week to recognize the achievements of our Nation's entrepreneurs. As chair of the Small Business Committee, I have a front row seat to the successes and challenges of our small business owners, and I have the privilege of being a champion for Iowa entrepreneurs. Our small businesses are more vulnerable to burdensome government regulations. Over the past few years, the cost of regulations for small businesses has been out of control. The previous administration created more than 1,100 final rules costing $1.8 trillion. The Biden administration's regulatory costs were 600 times higher than that of the first Trump administration and 3.7 times higher than that of the Obama administration. I have been encouraged by President Trump's efforts to freeze and roll back regulations. SBA Administrator Loeffler and the White House are working hard to eliminate burdensome and unnecessary regulations, but to be truly effective, small businesses need a Senate-confirmed chief counsel to continue this mission. The Office of Chief Counsel for Advocacy has been vacant, without a Senate-confirmed occupant for nearly a decade.…”