Olympia Snowe: “I want to say to Members of the Senate, this amendment would significantly help to reduce the regulatory burden imposed…”

“I want to say to Members of the Senate, this amendment would significantly help to reduce the regulatory burden imposed on small businesses throughout this country. The amendment is designed to clarify an existing Federal law that the Senate unanimously passed back in 1996. The Government Accountability Office has suggested that we needed to have further clarification to the existing law because many Federal agencies are circumventing the law. These agencies are using loopholes to ignore requirements under the law that the agencies publish small business compliance guides so that small businesses know how to comply with complex Federal regulations. The agencies have used ambiguity in the law as a rationale for not assisting small businesses. This amendment would clarify existing Federal rules and regulations, by requiring that Federal agencies produce compliance assistance materials to help small businesses satisfy their regulatory obligations. Because the GAO has found widespread and pervasive disregard of this law by agencies, we felt it was very important to clarify the law so that small business not only gets the assistance it requires but also can meet the regulatory requirements promulgated by the Federal government. As we well know, small businesses face a disproportionate burden of the impact of regulations in rules issued by Federal agencies.”