Prior to the House Small Business Committee scheduled markup of the bipartisan Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013 (H.R. 2452), a coalition of 125 business and manufacturing groups have overwhelmingly endorsed the legislation, touting its potential to help revive the economy and create jobs. The bipartisan legislation was introduced on June 28th by Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (MO-06) and Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL).

The coalition wrote in the letter, “We are writing to express our support for H.R. 2542, the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013. This bipartisan legislation would reform the regulatory process to ensure that all federal agencies appropriately consider the impact of their rules on small businesses across America.”

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 requires federal agencies to assess the economic impact of their regulations on small businesses, and if the impact is significant, consider alternatives that are less burdensome before the rule is finalized, however, agencies now use loopholes to avoid compliance. The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2013 would require regulators to do a more thorough analysis prior to adopting new rules.

The coalition continued, “Small businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy, and their ability to operate efficiently and free of unnecessary regulatory burdens is critical for our country’s economic recovery. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, these companies employ over half of all private sector employees and are responsible for 64 percent of net new jobs over the last 15 years, yet they are disproportionately impacted by compliance burdens associated with regulation. The Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act directly addresses that small business challenge.

“H.R. 2542 would improve and modernize the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), a three decades-old law that requires federal agencies to transparently account for the impact of regulation on small businesses. However, each agency interprets important terms in the statute in widely divergent ways and is often able to avoid many of the RFA’s requirements. This bill would streamline and make uniform those determinations of when the RFA would apply to a rule.”

Included among the 125 groups are the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Home Builders, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the American Dental Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.