WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s release of an Executive Order on “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” as well as two Presidential Memoranda on “Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement,” and “Regulatory Flexibility, Small Business, and Job Creation”:

“Excessive regulations are stifling the entrepreneurial spirit of America’s nearly 30 million small businesses, burdening these firms with annual costs of over $10,500 per employee, so I appreciate the President’s efforts to address this critical component of economic growth by issuing this Executive Order.  Undoubtedly, effective and lasting regulatory reform will require significant attention to the impact of both current and future federal rules, which is why I will reintroduce legislation in the coming weeks requiring the federal government to fully consider the economic impact on small businesses during the rulemaking process, including ‘indirect’ economic costs of regulations, as well to conduct a periodical review of the impact of existing regulations.”

Senator Snowe also highlighted an amendment she successfully added to the Financial Regulatory Reform bill requiring the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to convene a small business review panel to scrutinize proposed rules before they are published.  

“Small business review panels have worked well at EPA and OSHA since 1996 and we should apply this stipulation to every federal agency – so small businesses are considered first, and not as an afterthought,” Senator Snowe said.  “Just last week, I hosted Professor Elizabeth Warren, who will oversee the implementation of the CFPB, at a series of meetings with key stakeholders in Maine, and she endorsed these vital panels.”

The President’s Executive Order may be found here.  The “Presidential Memorandum on Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement” may be accessed here, while the “Presidential Memorandum on Regulatory Flexibility, Small Business, and Job Creation” may be viewed here.