Lamar Smith: “Employers across America face an avalanche of unnecessary Federal regulatory costs. Federal regulations cost our economy…”

“Employers across America face an avalanche of unnecessary Federal regulatory costs. Federal regulations cost our economy $1.7 trillion every year, over $15,000 for each household, according to the Small Business Administration. Yet the Obama administration seeks to add billions more to that cost. The administration's record-setting issuance of major regulations is particularly troubling. By its own admission, the administration's 2011 regulatory agenda contains 200 regulations that typically will affect the economy by $100 million or more every year. For employers, the people who create jobs and pay taxes, the impact of these costly regulations is clear. Government regulation has become a barrier to economic growth and job creation. Faced with huge, new, regulatory burdens and uncertainties about what will come next, employers slow down hiring, stop investing, and wait for a bill from the Obama administration. What enables the administration to issue so many new regulations with so little regard for their costs is the outdated Administrative Procedure Act. Enacted in 1946, the APA's minimal limitations on rulemaking have hardly changed in decades and do nothing to control costs. The Regulatory Accountability Act fixes this problem by bringing the APA up to date. Under its commonsense provisions, agencies are required to assess the cost and benefits of regulatory alternatives.…”