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Small Business Coalition Fights for Regulatory Reform,
Sends Open Letter to President Obama
Coalition unveils five principles needed to restore
certainty among critical job-creating bloc
WASHINGTON (November 1, 2011) – On the heels of new national polling that shows federal regulations are a top problem facing American small businesses, Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations, a project of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), today released an open letter to President Obama urging adoption of five steps to improve the federal regulatory process for small businesses. The letter also called for a halt on new regulations until specific improvements are made to ensure transparency, objectivity and more opportunities for input in the regulatory process. Former Senator Blanche Lincoln made the announcement today with more than 50 small businesses from battleground states at a One Year Countdown election preview event hosted in partnership with POLITICO.
“We sent these commonsense principles to the White House one year before the presidential election because any productive discussion on job creation and economic recovery must address the concerns of small businesses,” Senator Lincoln said. “Small business growth is the key to economic recovery, and until we reform the regulatory process, small businesses will continue to struggle to gain traction.”
The five principles unveiled include: 1) Small businesses deserve a greater voice in the federal regulatory process 2) Providing assistance to small businesses before assessing penalties 3) Subjecting every major regulation to a rigorous benefit-cost analysis; 4) Regulations should be based on objective data and hard science, and 5) The regulatory process should require more transparency and accountability.
A recent Gallup Poll found that new regulations are the most important problem facing small businesses today. It is estimated that small businesses pay 36 percent more per employee to comply with regulations than their larger counterparts.
“I have seen my compliance costs steadily increase in the last several years while the bottom line has remained stagnant or decreased because of the recession,” said Bruce Hottle, owner of Eagle Concrete Products in Somerset, PA. “With no end to higher costs in sight, it’s difficult to justify investing in growing the business and hiring new employees, and I think a lot of companies are in the same position we are.”
Since 2005, the number of regulations costing the economy more than $100 million has increased by 60 percent. With over 4,000 new regulations pending at the federal level, this trend may not have an end in sight.
“Continued escalation of regulations will push companies like mine to a point where we simply can’t sell those types of jobs at a profit anymore,” said Tim Englert, owner of Akron, Ohio-based Englert Construction. “While there are some regulations that make perfect sense, others seem to address a very minimal risk with considerable time and money. I came to D.C. to make sure this message is being heard.”
Hottle and Englert are among more than 50 member business owners of Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations from competitive battleground states who are scheduled to attend the POLITICO event in Washington and meet with their lawmakers on Capitol Hill this afternoon.
Click here to read the open letter, and view other small business stories at our website: www.sensibleregulations.org.
The One Year Countdown Event will be held at The W Hotel in Washington DC at 8 AM on November 1, 2011. To find more information or view the event through a live stream webcast, please click on this link.
Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations is a project of the National Federation of Independent Business, founded in 1943 to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses.