(Washington)Today, U.S. Congressman Sam Graves voted for the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would require Congress to affirmatively approve every new major regulation proposed by the executive branch before it can be enforced.  In addition, the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011, which passed the House with bipartisan support, would force federal agencies to fully examine the impact of their proposed regulations on small businesses and consider less burdensome alternatives if those impacts are significant.

“Job creators are being buried under new and confusing regulations from the bureaucracy,” said Graves. “Part of any solution to get our economy going should include steps to free up our small businesses by peeling back unnecessarily burdensome regulations, ending the continual threats of tax hikes, and addressing the cloud of federal debt that hangs over our economy.”

According to an October Gallup poll, small business owners cite compliance with government regulations as the most important problem facing them today — more than consumer confidence in the economy or the lack of consumer demand. Small businesses are the engine of job creation, responsible for creating more than half of the nonfarm private gross domestic product, but most small firms are simply being crushed by the onslaught of federal regulations.

According to a 2010 Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy study, small firms bear a regulatory cost that is 36 percent higher than the cost of regulatory compliance for large businesses, because they don’t have the resources to deal with federal regulations.

Regulations already cost the American economy $1.75 trillion annually, not to mention the 200 new Obama administration regulations that are expected to cost over $100 million each. Seven of those new regulations will cost the economy more than $1 billion each.

“Small businesses create 7 out of every 10 jobs,” said Graves. “It is Washington’s responsibility to remove these barriers and make sure the government carefully considers regulatory consequences on our most robust job creators before finalizing them.”

The REINS Act is H.R. 10 and it will now go to the Senate where its prospects are uncertain.

# # #