Oversight and Government Reform Committee Seeks to Reduce Barriers to Job Creation From Excessive Government Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As our economy enters its 21st straight month with unemployment at 9 percent or higher, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing Thursday to highlight the burden that federal regulations put on small businesses and families.  The hearing featured testimony from representatives of the small business community, trade associations and other experts who discussed the impact that excessive government regulation puts on their efforts to create jobs.  Congressman Todd Platts (PA-19), a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will be actively engaged in upcoming efforts to review federal regulations.

A September 2010 study by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) found that federal regulations cost the average American business $8,086 per employee in 2008 – while the burden for companies with fewer than 20 employees reached $10,585 per employee.  These costs are either passed on to the consumer or workers in the form of lower wages or shortage of jobs.  According to the SBA, the cost of federal regulations per household reached $15,586 in 2008, an increase of $4,000 per household since 2004.  This trend is not slowing.  In 2010, the Obama Administration issued 3,316 new federal rules and regulations.

"Excessive regulations and government red tape takes money out of the hands of America's job creators and families,” said Congressman Platts. “Congress needs to exercise stronger oversight over the federal regulatory process and push federal agencies to become more transparent and accountable for their actions."

In late 2010, the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA-49), embarked on an effort to solicit the feedback of job creators nationwide to examine such barriers to job creation through the launch of www.AmericanJobCreators.com.  More than 200 private companies, trade associations and other interested parties have provided their feedback thus far.  Congressman Platts encourages small businesses and other entrepreneurs throughout the 19th Congressional District to share their insights on the regulatory barriers to job creation at the www.AmericanJobCreators.com website.

“For more than two years, we have been hearing anecdotal examples from job creators about how government regulations impede the type of permanent, private-sector job creation necessary to successfully lower unemployment,” Chairman Issa noted.  “This is an opportunity for private industry to put forward detailed and specific examples so both the American people and policymakers can determine for themselves what actions can be taken to foster robust and lasting job creation.  Hopefully, at the conclusion of this effort, both the President and lawmakers on each end of Capitol Hill will be able to use this broad input on regulatory barriers to job creation to make informed decisions about the best path forward for our economy.”

Thursday’s hearing is the first step in this oversight process.  The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution today (H. Res. 72) directing House committees to inventory and review federal agency rules and regulations that may unfairly harm the ability to create jobs and grow the economy.  Congressman Platts voted in favor of H.Res. 72, which passed the House by a vote of 391 to28.

Congressman Platts serves as Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management.  The Subcommittee will continue the oversight agenda with two upcoming hearings studying the federal government’s financial management process. The first, scheduled for Wednesday, February 16, 2011, will focus on improving the federal financial reporting model and increasing government transparency through technology. The second hearing, scheduled for March 9, 2011, will examine the reliability of the financial statements of the United States Government.