You hear a lot about regulatory reform: If we could get rid of overly burdensome regulations, it would help workers employed by small businesses—the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy. Last week, with the support of President-elect Trump, the House passed the REINS Act, which would ensure Congress has an up-or-down vote on any major regulation that would have an annual economic impact of $100 million or more.
Today, the House will consider the Regulatory Accountability Act. An idea from our Better Way agenda, this bill will increase transparency in the rule-making process, giving the public more input. And it will require agencies to choose the least costly option, unless they can show a costlier option is needed to protect health, safety, or welfare.
Why does that matter? Let’s take a look at some numbers:
- 1.2 million: The number of Wisconsinites who work for small businesses.
- 90 percent: The percentage of small business owners who support reforming the regulatory process.
- 3,028: The number of regulations finalized by the Obama Administration since 2009.
- $875 billion: The burden costs of the 3,000+ regulations issues by the Obama Administration in 8 years.
- 120,849,512: The number of paperwork hours as a result from the regulations finalized in 2016 alone.
- 97.7 percent: The percentage of businesses in Wisconsin that can be considered small businesses.
Those numbers are the facts, but they don’t tell the whole story. The truth is that Wisconsin is full of hard working taxpayers.
It isn’t big business that’s hit hardest by regulations; it’s the small business owner or the family farmer, and the Wisconsinites who work for them.
Make no mistake: sensible regulations are important. But this administration has taken regulating to an extreme that has resulted in a system that favors big government and big business over hardworking Wisconsinites.
The 115th Congress has begun by providing Wisconsinites and Americans across the country regulatory relief, demonstrating House Republicans’ commitment to empowering the American worker and renewing the American dream.
