Congressman Meuser Fights to Protect Main Street America from Burdensome Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) participated in the House Small Business Committee’s hearing titled “Burdensome Regulations: Examining the Biden Administration’s Failure to Consider Small Businesses.”

The Biden Administration has demonstrated a complete disregard for the interests of business owners in their rule-making process. Since taking office, President Biden and his administration have enacted 891 final rules, costing $1.6 trillion and requiring 232.4 million hours of paperwork.

Since January of last year, the House Small Business Committee has reviewed more than 100 proposed and final rules, sent 66 letters to 34 different federal government agencies, and held 13 hearings on the regulatory burdens created by the Biden Administration. Today’s hearing addressed the overall negative effects on Main Street America caused by burdensome regulations from the Biden Administration and the changes necessary to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).

The RFA was created to ensure federal agencies considered small businesses during their rulemaking process and prevent excessive burdens. The RFA requires agencies to analyze whether proposed regulations will have a “significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” However, the current implementation of the RFA fails to protect small business interests, with agencies often treating it as a mere formality rather than a thorough analysis of regulatory impacts.

To protect small businesses from excessive federal regulation, the RFA needs to be strengthened. This will require legislative action both within and beyond the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Small Business.

"One of the greatest challenges small businesses face today is the burden of federal regulations," said Congressman Meuser. "Anyone who engages with local Chambers of Commerce or visits small businesses on Main Street, as I do, will quickly understand this. If federal regulators approached their roles with an open mind and listened to American small business owners, they would realize that excessive rules and taxes hinder small businesses' ability to succeed and grow."

Watch Congressman Meuser’s full remark’s here.

The witnesses at this hearing included the Honorable Paul Ray, Director, Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Mr. Dan Goldbeck, Director of Regulatory Policy, Mr. Rob Smith, Senior Attorney at NFIB Small Business Legal Center, and Mr. Todd Phillips, Assistant Professor at Georgia State University.

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