[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 59 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE SMALL ENTERPRISE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

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                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2002

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Small 
Business Enterprise Paperwork Reduction Act, a bill to relieve the 
burden of regulation compliance documentation.
  Federal regulations are set to ensure worker safety and to protect 
public health and the environment. This nation's small businesses--
representing 99 percent of all employers and constituting half our 
economic product--place a high value on compliance with regulations. 
Unfortunately, these requirements disproportionately burden small 
businesses, which spend millions of hours annually meeting federal 
paperwork and record-keeping requirements to prove that they have 
complied with regulations.
  The time and effort spent by businesses and taxpayers to meet 
paperwork demands are estimated to equal almost 10 percent of the 
nation's Gross Domestic Product. Clearly, this is a waste of time and 
resources better spent creating jobs and furnishing goods and services.
  Federal paperwork consistently ranks among the top 10 problems for 
small businesses. Time spent filling out forms, takes small business 
owners away from conducting our nation's business. It takes doctors 
away from patient care. It takes restaurant owners away from serving 
patrons. It takes your auto mechanic away from fixing your 
transmission.
  The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (PRA), since amended, seeks to 
minimize the cost and burden imposed by federal paperwork requirements 
and to maximize the usefulness of the information collected. The PRA of 
1995 required reduction of paperwork burdens government-wide. 
Unfortunately, the burden did not decrease since 1995--in fact, it has 
increased by nearly 180 million burden hours during Fiscal Year 2000. 
This is the second largest one-year increase since the act was passed. 
It is also an outrage.
  The PRA established the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 
(OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget to review and clear 
agency information collection requirements. Unfortunately, OIRA has 
been diverted from its original mission by an Executive Order that 
makes it a central clearinghouse for agency rulemaking actions. Review 
of regulations now takes up most of OIRA's time and resources.
  This legislation seeks to bring OIRA back towards its original 
mission--to ensure that Federal agencies do not over-burden businesses 
and the public with requests for information and documentation.
  The Office of Management and Budget listed a total of 710 PRA 
violations for Fiscal Year 2000.
  This legislation will strengthen the PRA by requiring OMB to do more 
to enforce the law on paperwork burden violations.
  In addition, by making violations of the Paperwork Reduction Act a 
more public matter, it will increase public awareness and force 
agencies to focus on the burdens they impose on small business.
  Lastly, this legislation requires federal agencies and OMB to track 
the paperwork burdens on small businesses by industry type. Congress 
and the public should be aware of what burdens are being placed on our 
small businesses by Federal agencies.
  Small businesses create 75 percent of the new jobs in America. To 
protect this economic dynamo, we must be careful about the burdens we 
place on these firms. If the burden of government paperwork becomes too 
great, it will stall the very engine of economic growth that has made 
America strong. This legislation is designed to tighten the load, so 
that small businesses can get back to work providing jobs, goods and 
services in their communities.

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