NEWSRELEASE
For Release: December 14, 2007 Advocacy Applauds Committee Vote To Strengthen Bill Would Require Agencies To Consider Regulations’ Indirect
Impacts
Contact: LaVita LeGrys, (202) 205-6888
SBA Number: 07-38 ADVO
Press Kit
Regulatory Flexibility Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan commended the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Small Business for its unanimous vote on the “Small Business Regulatory Improvement Act” (H.R. 4458) yesterday. “This new bill closes the most notable loopholes in the implementation of the Regulatory Flexiblity Act (RFA). By doing so, it provides needed assistance to small entities,” said Sullivan. The Office of Advocacy, which Sullivan leads, is responsible for implementation of the RFA within the federal government.
In testimony before the committee on December 6, Sullivan described three necessary improvements to ensure fair treatment of small businesses in the regulatory process: consideration of foreseeable indirect impacts of proposed regulations, periodic review of existing regulations, and codification of Executive Order 13272, “Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking.” The executive order requires agencies to notify the Office of Advocacy when a proposed rule is expected to have a significant impact on small business.
“Our biggest concern with the RFA is that it does not require agencies to analyze indirect impacts,” Sullivan said. “Agencies are required to consider the direct economic impact of a regulatory action on small entities, but that analysis can overlook obvious side effects and fail to provide decision-makers with a full understanding of a rule’s likely impact on small entities. H.R. 4458 contains the needed improvements to require this analysis.”
Sullivan’s testimony can be found at http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/test07_1206.html, and a summary of this testimony at http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/summtest07_1206.pdf.
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.