This week, S-Corp joined more than 70 trade associations in urging House leadership to advance meaningful regulatory relief for Main Street employers.
The effort was led by the National Federation of Independent Business. It backs the Prove It Act (HR 1163), legislation that would strengthen the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a 1980 law that requires federal agencies to analyze the impact of proposed regulations on small businesses and consider less burdensome alternatives. Despite being on the books for 45 years, agencies have routinely found ways to sidestep these requirements.
The letter notes the dramatic regulatory shifts of recent years and the urgent need for Congressional action:
In one four-year term, the Biden Administration finalized an unprecedented $1.8 trillion in new regulatory compliance costs and added 356 million in paperwork hours…However, without Congressional action, this relief will only be short term, and small businesses will suffer from the regulatory pendulum swings that make long-term planning and investments so difficult.
Multiple reports from NFIB, the House Small Business Committee, and SBA’s Office of Advocacy have documented widespread agency noncompliance with the RFA. They find that agencies frequently certify that new rules won’t significantly impact small businesses without properly analyzing the costs, undermining the law’s intent.
This message should find a welcome audience with the Trump administration. President Trump has overseen a massive reduction in regulatory costs to the economy (to the tune of over $128 billion), and making permanent rules to protect Main Street from unelected bureaucrats is squarely in their wheelhouse.
The bill cleared the full House in 2024 but stalled in the Senate. Since the new Congress convened last year a new version of the bill has been approved by both the House Judiciary and Small Business committees. More to come on this front.