Policy Areas: Regulatory Burdens

The impact of federal regulatory standards is felt everyday by businesses and consumers alike. While most provide clear benefits, many also have adverse affects, driving up production costs for businesses and raising prices for consumers. For entrepreneurs, the burden of federal regulations can be overwhelming. New business owners must first learn the vast array of regulatory standards that directly affect them and then withstand the cost of compliance. For many, this can result in bankruptcy as compliance with environmental, taxation, and labor standards has a more significant impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs than on large corporations. 

Issues include:

• Sarbanes/Oxley (corporate governance)

• Taxation

• Environmental Standards

• Labor/OSHA

• Antitrust

• Zoning

• Code of Federal Regulation

• Records Requirements

• Electronic Records

• Property “Takings”

• Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Endangered Species Act

• Unfunded Mandates

• Federal Trade Commission

• Environmental Impact Statements

Read full report here

CRS Issue Brief for Congress

• Federal Regulatory Reform: An Overview
  by Curtis Copeland, Congressional Research Service

• Electric Utility Regulatory Reform: Issues for the 109th Congress
  by Amy Abel, Congressional Research Service

 :: View all issue briefs ::

Recent Capitol Hill Activity/News

• Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005 (H.R. 1461)

Articles and Reports

• The Changing Burden of Regulation, Paperwork, and Tax Compliance on Small Business

• 2003 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal
  Regulations (OMB)

:: View all articles ::

Major Legislation

• Paperwork and Regulatory Improvements Act of 2004 (H.R. 2432)

• Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980

:: View all legislation ::

Useful Resources

• United States Regulatory Information

• Searchable U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

• National Federation for Independent Businesses – Government and Regulatory Reform

:: View all resources ::

Some Key Players

• Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) is ranking Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

• Congressman W. Todd Akin (R-MO) is Chair of the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight.

• Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) is ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight.

• Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) is ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs.

• Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) is Chair of the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs.

• Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) is Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

• John D. Graham, Ph.D. is Administrator of Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget.

• Charley Maresca is Director of the Regulatory Policy/Office of Interagency Affairs at the Small Business Administration.

• Robert W. Hahn is Executive Director of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

• Peter J. Wallison is a Resident Fellow and Co-Director of the American Enterprise Institute's Financial Regulation Project.

• Robert W. Crandall is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution.

• Pietro S. Nivola is Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.

• Peter Van Doren is editor of Regulation magazine and an expert on regulation at the Cato Institute.

• Chris Edwards is Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute and examines the relationship of regulation and entrepreneurship.

• James Gattuso is a Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

• Susan Dudley is Director of the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

• Thomas Hopkins is Dean of the College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology and researches the burden of government regulation.

POLICY AREAS

E-Commerce

Entrepreneurship Education

Financing

Intellectual Property

Minorities

Regulatory Burdens

Stock Options

Tax System

Technology Transfer

Women

Worker Benefits

Workforce Training