Congressman Jason Smith Reintroduces SCRUB Act to Fight Unnecessary Regulations

WASHINGTON – Friday, Congressman Jason Smith reintroduced H.R. 1155, the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act (SCRUB Act) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and today the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the proposed legislation. This bill, previously introduced by Congressman Smith in the 113th Congress, would reduce the ineffective and intrusive federal regulations holding back economic opportunity.

“Across southeast and southern Missouri, job creators tell me that complying with costly, burdensome regulations keeps them from hiring more folks and expanding,” said Congressman Smith. “Washington’s excessive meddling in rural America hurts economic growth and job creation. My mission with the SCRUB Act is to require a full evaluation of all 175,000-plus pages of the Federal Register and identify outdated and ineffective regulations for removal. This streamlining will lessen regulatory burdens on small businesses and give them the freedom to innovate and grow.”

The SCRUB Act would establish a bipartisan, blue ribbon commission to retroactively review the existing federal regulations and determine which are no longer necessary or useful. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses spend an average of $10,585 per employee each year to comply with federal regulations. This costs Americans $2.028 trillion in lost economic growth each year, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. The expenses are not borne by businesses alone; the Competitive Enterprise Institute found that for each household in America the price tag of regulation is more than $15,000. “It’s time for action to reduce these costs on job creators and American families,” said Congressman Smith.

“I’m introducing this bill because I see how these regulations affect families across Missouri and across the United States,” Congressman Smith said. “The EPA has issued regulations on wood burning stoves and is looking at regulating potentially every drop of water on private property. The Department of Labor thinks they know better than we do about our kids helping out on farms, and even school lunches have come under the jurisdiction of the federal government. It’s time for some common sense reforms.”

A Senate companion to the SCRUB Act is expected to be introduced soon.

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