Hanna pushes for easing of regulatory burden on small businesses

Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) supported legislation in the House Small Business Committee last week that would help protect small businesses from overly burdensome government regulations.

Hanna is a cosponsor of the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013, H.R. 2542, which would ensure careful consideration of the consequences of rule making by removing loopholes that have been used by agencies in avoiding compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980.

The RFA was establish to require federal agencies to assess the economic impact of their regulations on small businesses. When an impact is found to be significant, agencies are urged to consider alternatives that would be less burdensome before the rule is finalized.

Hanna, who owned and operated an upstate New York business for more than 30 years before being elected to Congress, cautioned that not all regulations are bad but that many are unnecessarily burdensome for small businesses.

Hanna added that small businesses shoulder regulatory costs that are much higher than those for large businesses.

“Keeping up to speed and coping with federal regulations is one of the greatest challenges faced by small businesses each and every day,” Hanna said. “The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act would close loopholes so agencies dutifully assess the impact of their regulations on small businesses and consider alternatives that are less burdensome before the rule is finalized.

“In too many instances, Congress must step in after the fact and grant regulatory relief to our small firms that employ so many of our family, friends and neighbors. I look forward pushing this bill forward to passage so that we can protect small businesses from overly burdensome regulations before they are finalized – instead of cleaning up the mess afterward.”