WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., joined U.S. Senator David Vitter, R-La., Chairman of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee (SBC), and others in introducing the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015, which ensures that federal agencies fully consider the interests and input of small businesses when weighing the potential impacts of new rules on small entities.
“This Administration has demonstrated a willingness to advance its own goals at any cost with very little regard for the businesses and industries it cripples, or the livelihoods lost as a result,” said Enzi. “This bill is about being reasonable. It forces the runaway regulatory agencies to stop and think.”
Enzi said the controversial “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule is an example of a federal agency failing to properly consult the small business community before issuing a final rule, as required by law. Recent evidence has indicated that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to properly weigh the economic and regulatory burden of the rule on the small business community.
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee held a hearing to examine how the proposed WOTUS rule would affect small businesses. During the hearing, a representative from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy testified that the rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, and various small business owners from around the country testified to the burdens they would face because of the rule. Despite these findings and comments on the rule from around the country, the EPA later moved forward with finalizing the rule.
Other sponsors of the bill include U.S. Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
Click here to read the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act.
