Congressman Doc Hastings

Washington, Jul 26, 2012 - The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4078, the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Jobs Creation Act by a bipartisan vote of 245 to 172.  This bill includes a number of provisions to reduce the federal regulatory burden on small businesses and streamline the federal permitting process.

“The Obama Administration is regulating Americans out of jobs and into the unemployment line,” said Congressman Doc Hastings, who supported the bill. “Federal regulations have increased by 52 percent since President Obama took office, making it harder for small businesses, who are the true job creators of our economy, to grow. This bill will provide much-needed regulatory relief to our nation’s job creators and help get our economy back on track.”

According to the Small Business Administration, federal regulations are costing small businesses about $1.75 trillion every year – enough money for these businesses to provide an additional 35 million private sector jobs with an average salary of $50,000.

H.R. 4078 includes a number of provisions impacting the federal regulatory process, including an immediate freeze on economically significant regulations that harm the economy until unemployment reaches 6 percent or below; a prohibition on federal agencies from issuing economically significant regulations during a President’s “lame duck” term, or the period between election day and inauguration day; a requirement that impacted parties have a right to intervene before federal agencies agree to binding legal settlements that require the issuance of new regulations; a requirement that independent agencies like the National Labor Relations Board comply with the same regulatory review requirements as other agencies; and a requirement for a more thorough cost-benefit analysis of proposed regulations.  The bill also creates a more streamlined federal permitting process for construction projects.