Lamar Smith: “Even the President and his regulatory czar, Professor Cass Sunstein, admit that over-regulation hampers job creation.…”

“Even the President and his regulatory czar, Professor Cass Sunstein, admit that over-regulation hampers job creation. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 is based on the fact that regulatory compliance is especially costly for small businesses, which are America's main job creators. In this economy, we have no room for error when it comes to over-regulation. The bill ensures that all agencies follow the Regulatory Flexibility Act. H.R. 527 does not ask agencies to do anything that they should not be doing already right now. There is no reason to create the blanket exemptions proposed by this amendment. There are no such exemptions currently in the Regulatory Flexibility Act for the categories of rules described in the amendment. Further, the amendment would create tremendous confusion among agencies and small businesses regarding which version of the law would apply to a future rulemaking. We need less confusion and uncertainty, not more, in the regulatory process. If the amendment stems from a concern about the ability of agencies to make rules in emergency situations, I would note once again that agencies may avail themselves of the ``good cause'' exception to the notice-and-comment rulemaking process already in the Administrative Procedure Act. If an agency justifiably invokes this exemption, it will not have to conduct the analysis required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.…”