 |
|
| Slowing Regulatory Costs Vital for Small Business
&SBE Council Lauds Bush Administration Progress
|
December 7, 2005
Washington, D.C. - In response to an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report released today showing a dramatic decrease in the growing costs of federal regulation, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) lauded the progress made by the Bush Administration in reining-in this insidious burden for U.S. small businesses.
`Regulation and its associated costs are especially burdensome for small firms. In fact, our per-employee regulatory costs are almost double that imposed on larger firms. The unruly nature of the federal regulatory process has taken its toll on small businesses over the past decade or more, and we are pleased to see the Bush Administration pursuing a systematic approach to reviewing and modifying federal rules,` said SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan.
The OMB report, which reviews the economic impact of major regulations on the private sector and state and local governments, found that the Bush Administration has cut the annual growth rate of federal regulation by 68 percent since 2001. While the annual increase of regulatory costs have fallen - from $5.5 billion to $1.7 billion annually - the report also showed the net benefit of major regulations between 2001 and 2004 has doubled the average for the previous eight years.
Still, according to the SBE Council, a continued focus and commitment by Congress, federal agencies and the Administration is required to fully modernize the regulatory process and make the system more flexible and responsive to small firms and our ever-changing economy.
`We are hopeful that Congress and federal agencies build on the success of this report to accelerate the pace of change that is needed to fully reform our regulatory system. The world is becoming increasingly competitive each and every day for U.S. small businesses, and we must not allow cumbersome regulation to hold us back,` added Kerrigan.
The SBE Council is a nonpartisan small business advocacy organization that works to protect small business and promote entrepreneurship. For more information, please visit: http://www.sbecouncil.org/.
|
| |
|
|
