This afternoon, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett joined small business owners and Sensible Regulations coalition members to call on Washington to address the dangerous wave of regulation that is backed up in Washington today.  At Pennsylvania Precision Cast Parts, Inc., in Lebanon, PA, business owners, local elected officials, and members of the media discussed the threat that more than 4,000 federal regulations pose for small business owners over the next four years.

 

As the national campaign fervor reaches a boiling point, politicians in Washington have been quick to voice their support for our country’s job creators.  Yet, at the same time, regulators continue to pen even more complex and burdensome regulations at an ever-increasing pace.  The rulemaking process has gotten so out of balance that today there are thousands of new rules pending approval, which if implemented could cost over $500 billion.

 

Most small business owners would agree that agencies seem primarily focused on adding to the already oversized federal rulebook rather than first fully considering the impact of new rules or how to better enforce those already in place.  Over the last five years, the number of regulations costing more than $100 million or more has increased by more than 60 percent.

 

The uptick in new rules and regulations has had measurable impact.  A Gallup poll earlier this year found 85 percent of small businesses weren’t hiring, about half of which attributed it to government regulation.  Similarly, the country continues to experience weak growth – unemployment actually increased in June – and small business confidence has steadily decreased.

 

Business owners throughout Pennsylvania and across the country can’t afford to idly hope for a magical turnaround.  As long as regulators continue on a path of ‘more’ – more rules, more stringency, and more federal involvement – we can expect to see the same dismal recovery as the last four years.  Instead, policymakers need to work with business owners to find more effective, mutually beneficial solutions that protect our communities and as well as the jobs within our communities.