Rubio, Cardin in a dispute over Small Biz Act reauthorization

Rubio says “regulatory reform” provisions necessary;
Cardin says bill has “poison pill” regulatory changes

     Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, canceled the scheduled markup on July 24 of the Small Business Act reauthorization legislation, blaming a disagreement with Democrats over regulatory provisions in the bill.

      Rubio, who chairs the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, last week postponed further work on the legislation, which aims to comprehensively reauthorize the Small Business Act for the first time since 1999.

      “It is now clear that there are irreconcilable differences when it comes to easing the regulatory burden of America’s more than 30 million small business (sic),” Rubio wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, the minority is demanding we strip all references to regulatory reform...Therefore, this bill will not be moving forward.”

      The senior Democrat on the committee, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-MD, responded with his own statement...more....