Two regulatory reform bills sponsored by U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), the Advocacy Empowerment Act and the Hearing Small Business Act, today earned the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council. Risch’s legislation would give the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA) tools to better monitor the impact of federal regulations on small businesses, and require the Fish & Wildlife Service and the Internal Revenue Service to consider small businesses when making rules.

“In my position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, my number one priority has been to get the government out of the way and help provide some certainty and stability for entrepreneurs,” said Senator Risch. “My legislation will help small businesses finally enjoy relief from burdensome federal regulations. I am grateful to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council for their unequivocal support of these efforts.”

In the letter of endorsement, Maxine Turner, Chair of the Small Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote: “Together these bills would provide relief for America’s small business community. ... Undoubtedly, the growth of federal regulation over the past several years deserves part of the blame for our anemic economic growth. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation … pegs the impact of federal regulatory burden at $1.9 trillion per year in direct costs, lost productivity, and higher prices.”

The Advocacy Empowerment Act and the Hearing Small Business Act require federal agencies to monitor their regulations’ impact on small businesses. These bills give the Office of Advocacy the power to make sure agencies have considered how many small businesses will be affected by a regulation and will allow small businesses to provide direct input on interim final rules, which are agency rules that could be issued and go into immediate effect.

Click here to read the full letter of support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read more about the Advocacy Empowerment Act here. 

Read more about the Hearing Small Business Act here.

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