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.
“I was very disappointed when Chairman Rubio unveiled his draft SBA reauthorization legislation, which includes poison pill measures that hamstring federal agencies’ ability to protect workers and the environment,” Cardin said in a statement.
“Rather than being narrowly designed to help small businesses, the regulatory section of the Chairman’s Mark implements a wish list from corporate interests who seek to stifle government regulations that protect our health and safety.”
As of press time, the dispute continues and no markup is currently scheduled, according to the committee’s website.
Comprehensive legislation
The committee recently held eight hearings and folded 15 legislative proposals into the bill. The section on government contracting has 14 provisions (see story on page 1).
Additional sections include small business innovation and technology, investment, disaster loans, lending and cybersecurity, among others.
Rubin released the 413-page legislation on July 18, with a chairman’s amendment on July 22.
“Regulatory reforms”
Rubio, in an opinion column following Cardin’s comments, characterized the bill’s section on regulatory matters as significant improvements, intended primarily to “give small businesses more notice and opportunities to comment on proposed regulations.”
“My Republican colleagues and I would like to see significantly more regulatory reform,” Rubio wrote.
Critics of the regulatory provisions
Most of the Democratic criticism appears to be centered on a single provision: S1339, “The Prove It Act,” sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-IA.
The “Prove It Act” makes changes to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a longstanding law that requires agencies to analyze the impact of proposed new regulations on small businesses. If there is a significant negative impact, there is a process that could lead to modifications.
Rubio’s proposed changes would allow the SBA’s Office of Advocacy Chief Counsel--who is appointed by the president--to deem an agency’s Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis to be factually inadequate, and to order that agency to perform additional analysis and reviews.
Critics say the measure could be used to advance President Trump’s stated goal of eliminating two regulations for each new regulation. The additional reviews would cause delays, and possibly could halt new regulations.
The critics also say the proposal could have far-reaching impact.
“This is a way for large corporations to use the Regulatory Flexibility Act to slow down and stop new regulations that the corporations do not want, such as rules affecting the environment or their workforces, while claiming to be working on behalf of small businesses,” a Hill source familiar with Rubio’s bill told Set-Aside Alert. “That is not what the Regulatory Flexibility Act is intended for.”
A GOP committee source familiar with “Prove It” told Set-Aside Alert it would not cause significant delays on important issues because the advocacy office could waive the additional reviews in a case involving immediate public welfare, health and safety.
Other regulatory provisions
Rubio highlighted several of the proposed regulatory changes in his column:
- S1420, “The SMART Act,” by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-AZ, would require federal agencies, when they issue major new rules, to publish plans for retrospectively evaluating those rules within 10 years to see if they met goals.
- A provision by Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, that would allow small businesses to participate in small business review panels electronically;
- A provision codifying portions of President Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 12866 to require agencies to conduct retrospective review of existing regulations to make sure they are meeting their goals; and
- A provision creating small business review panels at more agencies.
Cardin declined to comment further.
More information:
Rubio statement: https://washex.am/2LMsm15
Cardin statement: https://bit.ly/2OpKLTB
