RESOLVED The Small Business Legislative Council urges Congressional hearings to study how best to achieve the most effective representation of the interests of small business within government. Such an analysis should include consideration of the establishment of a truly Independent agency (an independence comparable to that of the Securities and Exchange Commission but without its regulatory authority) to represent small business within government. It should promote from the small business community truly vigorous competition to entrenched and concentrated industries, including oversight of the 1980 small business omnibus legislation which, among other provisions: • required the President to report annually on the state of small business and the impact of Federal programs on small business and competition. • required that SBA create and maintain a data base of small business economic information. • established a federal Small Business Economic Policy. Consideration should also be given by Congress to transfer (from the FTC) to such an agency, of the Bureau of Competition (Including Robinson-Patman Act enforcement) and the Bureau of Economics. Because of the salutory track record of the House and Senate Small Business Committees, we urge that consideration be given by Congress to retention by such Small Business Committees of legislative authority over any new agency of government established to represent small business. We urge further that the House and Senate Small Business Committees' authority be retained over any existing programs of the Small Business Administration, regardless of whether such programs are continued under the Small Business Administration or transferred to other agencies of government. EXECUTIVE REORGANIZATION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) In a November 14, 1980, memorandum to President- "There should be an immediate and thorough RESOLVED Any plan to change the SBA, to restructure the agen- TWO-TIER REGULATION In the past few years the number of Federal regulatory agencies has grown, and so has the accompanying regulatory burden upon the private sector. Traditionally, government regulation has been applied equally to all companies across the board, without regard to the company size or impact on the economy. Statutory protection of the well-being of American citizens, while in many areas necessary, need not be the deterrent to economic progress it has become. Small business is especially hard hit by excessive regulation, particularly when required to comply with regulations tailored to giant corporations. Unlike the larger companies, small business firms often haven't the time, personnel or expertise to meet the requirements of federal regulations. The small business owner wears many hats in the day-to-day operation of his business-the time and resources spent meeting often-frivolous government policy objectives erodes his effectiveness as a manager, his competitive stance, and his place in the local economy. For these reasons, a flexible, tiered regulatory system has been adopted by Congress. When General Motors and Joe's Machine Shop are required to meet the same government standards, they are not being treated equally or fairly. With respect to both substance and procedure, small business should in every case bear a different compliance burden. Since so many regulations have come into effect in an effort to control the practices of the largest companies, small business should not continue to suffer from entanglement in the regulatory net; the social benefits of applying regulations to small firms are always diluted. Small business is different in terms of its ability to comply and also in its economic impact on the community. These facts should be recognized by the Congress and the regulatory agencies of the government by implementing flexibility in regulations, thereby leading to a reduction in paperwork and compliance burdens borne by small business. Achieving this goal will require vigorous Congresslonal oversight of the implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Federal agencies must be required to comply with both the letter and the spirit of this landmark law. RESOLVED The Small Business Legislative Council urges the nggressive enforcement of a flexible, multi-tiered system of regulation, as mandated by Congress in 1980, in order to equalize the compliance burden of all companies. Congress should oversee the enforcement of flexible regulation and rules, and in addition, seek other legislative remedies, such as tax incentives to spur compliance. COST JUSTIFICATION FOR REGULATIONS Excessive government regulation is a significant in- The cost of complying with government regulations The time and energy spent on federal paperwork, and curs. The Administration is attempting to deal with this Many pieces of legislation have been introduced to Another remedy can be found in the Regulatory Flex- RESOLVED The Small Business Legislative Council urges passage |