As part of their ongoing oversight duties to ensure America’s small businesses aren’t weighed down by burdensome federal regulations, U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) and her Republican colleagues on the U.S. House Small Business Committee requested details from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and numerous other federal agencies on the effectiveness of several small business-focused measures.
“Small businesses are bearing the brunt of record-high inflation, supply chain issues and labor shortages. The last thing they need is more burdensome regulations that hurt their ability to meet their bottom line,” Rep. Kim said in an Oct. 25 statement. “Policies from Washington should make life easier for Americans, not harder.”
In a letter sent this week to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, for instance, Rep. Kim, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, and several GOP members requested information about the SEC’s implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, and Executive Order 13272, the Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking issued on Aug. 13, 2002.
The measures require agencies to give small businesses explicit notice of proposed rules; provide small businesses with exceptional opportunities to raise concerns; and compel agencies to consider such concerns, according to their letter.
“These measures were designed to bring small businesses that traditionally operate on thin margins to the regulatory decision-making table,” wrote Rep. Kim and her committee colleagues. “Despite the desired intent, there is ongoing concern that implementation of these measures have left small businesses wanting in the regulatory arena.”
The congresswoman and her colleagues requested that Gensler answer numerous questions by Nov. 7, including to identify if any central SEC position or office exists that is responsible for ensuring that the SEC complies with the three measures, and whether any SEC positions or offices are responsible for reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses.
The lawmakers also want to know, among several other questions, if the SEC weighs both adverse and beneficial impacts when determining whether one of its proposed rules will have a significant impact on small businesses.
Rep. Kim and her House Small Business Committee Republican colleagues also sent similar letters to 14 other federal agencies regarding implementation of the three measures, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, the Interior, and Energy, among others.
“I’m proud to join Ranking Member Luetkemeyer in urging for commonsense, and I will keep fighting to get our economy back on track and ensure entrepreneurs can achieve their dream,” said Rep. Kim.