News from U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe
Chair, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
For Immediate Release: April 21, 2006
Contact: Chris Chichester, 202-228-5843

Snowe Praises SBA For Saving Small Businesses $6.6 Billion In Regulatory CostsCites New Report on Implementation of Regulatory Flexibility Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, praised the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy for saving businesses $6.6 billion in fiscal year 2005 through implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The savings are outlined in an Office of Advocacy report.

“In 2005 alone, the SBA Office of Advocacy’s efforts resulted in billions of dollars of savings for small businesses across the country,” said Senator Snowe. “By ensuring that the Federal government properly considers the impact of its rulemakings on small businesses, the SBA Office of Advocacy has fostered a regulatory climate that allows small businesses to do what they do best – creating new jobs and driving America’s economy.”

The Office of Advocacy reviews Federal rules to ensure that they adhere to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), which requires that these rules must consider their impact on small businesses and must examine significant alternatives that minimize small business impacts.

The SBA’s report found the following conclusions:

* In 2005, the SBA Office of Advocacy’s efforts resulted in billions of dollars of savings. Office of Advocacy involvement in Federal agency rulemakings helped secure $6.62 billion in first year cost savings and $966 million in recurring annual savings for small businesses.

* The SBA Office of Advocacy’s RFA training sessions are working well. The SBA Office of Advocacy conducted 21 training sessions on the RFA in 2005. These training sessions helped increase the number of draft rules that federal agencies sent to Advocacy. In addition, more agencies sought assistance from Advocacy early in the rulemaking process.

* Federal agencies are now more likely to consider small business impacts before issuing new rules. According to the report, in 2005 more agencies considered significant alternatives to their rules following discussions with the SBA Office of Advocacy and affected small businesses. This is evidenced by more federal rules containing realistic alternatives that would benefit small businesses.

In the 109th Congress, Senator Snowe has introduced a series of targeted regulatory reform bills. These include the Small Business Compliance Assistance Enhancement Act (S. 769) and the Regulatory Flexibility Reform Act (S. 1388).

The “Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, FY 2005" can be obtained online at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/flex/05regflx.pdf