[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4733-S4737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SMALL BUSINESS PAPERWORK RELIEF ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Governmental Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration 
of H.R. 327, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act, and that the 
Senate proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.

[[Page S4734]]

  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 327) to amend chapter 35 of title 44, United 
     States Code, for the purpose of facilitating compliance by 
     small businesses with certain Federal paperwork requirements, 
     and to establish a task force to examine the feasibility of 
     streamlining paperwork requirements applicable to small 
     businesses.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I understand that Senator Voinovich, Senator 
Lieberman, and others have an amendment at the desk.
  I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to, the motion 
to reconsider be laid upon the table, the bill, as amended, be read 
three times and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table; that the title amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; 
and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, 
without any intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3545) was agreed to.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  The amendment (No. 3546) was agreed to, as follows:

       Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to amend chapter 35 
     of title 44, United States Code, for the purpose of 
     facilitating compliance by small business concerns with 
     certain Federal paperwork requirements, to establish a task 
     force to examine information collection and dissemination, 
     and for other purposes.''

  The bill (H.R. 327), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President. I am very pleased to support final 
passage of H.R. 327, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by Senator 
Voinovich and me and Senators Bond, Bunning, Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, 
Collins, Conrad, Dayton, Jeffords, Kerry, Leahy, Lincoln, Miller, and 
Thompson.
  America's small businesses are a critical part of the nation's 
economy and a key driver of new job growth. Small businesses face 
particular challenges in complying with government information-
collection requirements. H.R. 327 contains several provisions to help 
small businesses in this area. This bill aids small businesses in 
understanding and complying with Federal information-collection 
requirements, mandates a study of how to streamline information-
collection requirements for small businesses and how to strengthen the 
dissemination of information by the Federal Government, and directs 
that certain data be compiled about enforcement activities involving 
small entities.
  Last year, Senator Voinovich introduced S. 1271, which is a companion 
bill to H.R. 327, on behalf of himself and Senators Lincoln and Leahy. 
The bill now has 13 additional cosponsors: Senators Bond, Bunning, 
Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, Collins, Conrad, Dayton, Jeffords, Kerry, 
Lieberman, Miller, and Thompson. The Governmental Affairs Committee 
reported out S. 1271 on November 14, 2001, and the Senate passed the 
bill by unanimous consent on December 17, 2001. The House had earlier 
passed H.R. 327, and, following Senate action on S. 1271, I worked with 
Members of the Senate and the House--primarily, Senator Voinovich and 
Representatives Burton, Waxman, Ose, and Tierney--to try and resolve 
differences between the House and Senate bills. These discussions were 
successful, resulting in a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on consensus 
legislation, and Senator Voinovich and I and other Senators are 
offering this consensus legislation as an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to H.R. 327 for final passage by the Senate.
  I thank Senator Voinovich and his staff for their leadership and hard 
work on this legislation in the Senate, and also Representatives 
Burton, Waxman, Ose, and Tierney and their staffs for their leadership 
and hard work in the House and for working with us to reach consensus 
on this valuable legislation to help small businesses.
  Senator Voinovich and I have prepared a section-by-section 
description of this consensus amendment, including a summary of the 
purposes and legislative history of this legislation, and I ask 
unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

H.R. 327--Consensus Amendment, Purposes and Summary, Section-by-Section 
                  Description, and Legislative History


                        i. purposes and summary

       H.R. 327, as amended, helps small businesses. The bill aids 
     small businesses in understanding and complying with Federal 
     information-collection requirements, mandates a study of how 
     to streamline information-collection requirements for small 
     businesses and how to strengthen the dissemination of 
     information by the Federal Government, and directs that 
     certain data be compiled about enforcement activities 
     involving small entities. The legislation includes the 
     following provisions to help small businesses:
       The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will annually 
     publish in the Federal Register and make available on the 
     Internet a list of the compliance assistance resources 
     available to small businesses.
       Each agency will establish a single point of contact within 
     the agency to serve as liaison with small business concerns 
     with respect to the collection of information and the control 
     of paperwork.
       Each agency will make efforts to further reduce the 
     information collection burden for very small business 
     concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
       An interagency task force will be convened to study 
     measures to streamline information collection requirements 
     for small businesses and to strengthen dissemination of 
     information by the Federal Government. Among other things, 
     the task force will identify ways to integrate the collection 
     of information from small businesses across agencies and 
     programs, will make recommendations for electronic reporting 
     and dissemination of information, and will recommend a plan 
     for an interactive government website to help small 
     businesses understand which federal information-collection 
     requirements apply to its business.
       Each agency will submit an initial report and final report 
     on the number of enforcement actions in which civil penalties 
     were assessed, the number of such actions against small 
     entities, the number of such actions in which civil penalties 
     were reduced or waived, and the amount of such reductions and 
     waivers. Requiring this information will facilitate 
     congressional oversight.


     ii. section-by-section description of the consensus amendment

                         Section 1. Short title

       Section 1 of the bill provides that the Act may be cited as 
     the ``Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002.''

     Section 2. Facilitation of compliance with federal paperwork 
                              requirements

       Publication of list of compliance-assistance resources. 
     Subsection (a) of section 2 of the bill adds a new paragraph 
     to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), at 44 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 3504(c)(6). The new paragraph (6), read together with 
     existing subsection (c), requires that, with respect to the 
     collection of information and the control of paperwork, the 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will 
     publish in the Federal Register and make available on the 
     Internet a list of compliance assistance resources available 
     to small businesses. The Director is instructed to do this in 
     consultation with the Small Business Administration. The 
     applicable definition of ``collection of information'' in the 
     PRA, at 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3502(3), includes an agency's 
     questions and recordkeeping requirements posted to, or 
     imposed upon, 10 or more persons to obtain information or 
     require its disclosure. The purpose of this subsection of the 
     bill is to provide small businesses a resource to help them 
     quickly and efficiently find the compliance assistance they 
     need.
       Agency point of contact. Subsection (b) of section 2 of the 
     bill adds a new subsection to the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 3506(i), requiring that, with respect to the collection 
     of information and the control of paperwork, each agency must 
     establish one point of contact to act as liaison between the 
     agency and small business concerns. The applicable definition 
     of ``agency,'' as set forth in the PRA at 44 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 3502(1), includes generally any department, Government 
     corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch, 
     including independent regulatory agencies. The bill also 
     makes applicable the definition of ``small business concern'' 
     in the Small Business Act, at 15 U.S.C. Sec. 632. The purpose 
     of this subsection of the bill is to establish the place in 
     each agency that small businesses can contact when they need 
     help with respect to information collection or the control of 
     paperwork.
       Further efforts to reduce paperwork for very small 
     enterprises. Subsection (c) of section 2 of the amendment 
     adds a new paragraph to the PRA, at 44 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 3506(c)(4), requiring that, in addition to the 
     requirements of the PRA regarding the reduction of 
     information collection burdens for small business concerns 
     generally, each agency must make efforts to further reduce 
     the information collection burden for small business concerns 
     with fewer than 25 employees.

 Section 3. Establishment of task force on information collection and 
                             dissemination

       Section 3(a) of the bill adds a new section to the PRA, at 
     44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520, entitled ``Establishment of task force 
     on information collection and dissemination.''

[[Page S4735]]

       Establishment of task force and statement of purposes. 
     Subsection (a) of new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520 establishes a task 
     force to study the feasibility of streamlining requirements 
     with respect to small business concerns regarding collection 
     of information and strengthening dissemination of 
     information.
       Selection of task force members. Subsection (b) of new 44 
     U.S.C. Sec. 3520 provides for the selection of individuals to 
     serve on the task force. The Director of OMB will determine 
     the number of representatives to be designated by each of the 
     several departments and agencies listed in the bill (subject 
     to the minimum requirements stated in the bill), and will 
     also name two additional agencies that will designate 
     representatives on the task force. The heads of those 
     departments and agencies will select individuals to serve as 
     members of the task force. The Director also will select a 
     representative of the Director, who will convene and chair 
     the task force.
       Task force assignments. Paragraphs (1) through (6) of 
     subsection (c) of new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520 direct the task 
     force to do the following:
       Paragraph (1)--Identify ways to integrate information 
     collection and examine whether, and to what extent, it would 
     be feasible and desirable to require agencies to consolidate 
     requirements regarding collections of information within and 
     across agencies (without negatively impacting the 
     effectiveness of underlying laws and regulations) in order to 
     enable each small business concern to submit required 
     information--(A) to one point of contact in the agency, (B) 
     in a single format, such as an electronic reporting system, 
     or (C) with synchronized reporting for submissions having the 
     same frequency, such as by allowing all quarterly reports to 
     be submitted on the same date each quarter, allowing all 
     annual reports to be submitted on the same date each year, 
     etc.
       Paragraph (2)--Examine whether, and to what extent, it 
     would be feasible and beneficial to small businesses to the 
     Director to publish a list of all collections of information 
     applicable to small business concerns organized by North 
     American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, by 
     industrial sector description, or in another manner by which 
     small business concerns can more easily identify applicable 
     requirements.
       Paragraph (3)--Examine the savings and develop 
     recommendations for implementing--(A) electronic submissions 
     to the Federal Government, and (B) interactive reporting 
     systems providing immediate feedback to the submitter to 
     assure that data being submitted are appropriate.
       Paragraph (4)--Make recommendations to improve the 
     electronic dissemination of information collected under 
     Federal requirements.
       Paragraph (5)--Recommend a plan for the development of an 
     interactive Internet-based system to allow each small 
     business to better understand which Federal information- 
     collection requirements (and where possible, other Federal 
     regulatory requirements) are applicable, and to more easily 
     comply with those requirements.
       Paragraph (6)--In carrying out its responsibilities, 
     consider opportunities for the coordination of Federal and 
     State reporting requirements, and for the coordination among 
     the points of contact established pursuant to the bill to 
     enable agencies, e.g., to provide contact information at 
     other agencies.
       Notice-and-comment procedure for task force. Subsection (d) 
     of new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520 requires the task force, by 
     publication in the Federal Register, to provide notice and an 
     opportunity for comment on each report in draft form, and to 
     make provision in each report for the inclusion of any 
     separate views of task force members and a summary of 
     significant public comments.
       Task force reports. Subsections (e) and (f) of new 44 
     U.S.C. Sec. 3520 require the task force to submit its first 
     report not later than one year after enactment of the bill 
     and its second report not later than two years after 
     enactment of the bill. The first report will be of the task 
     force's findings under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of 
     subsection (c) of new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520, and the second 
     report will be of the task force's findings under paragraphs 
     (4) and (5) of subsection (c) of new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520. 
     (Those paragraphs (1) through (5) are summarized above.) The 
     task force shall submit both its first and second reports to 
     the Director of OMB, to certain committees of Congress 
     identified in the bill, and to the Small Business and 
     Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated under 
     15 U.S.C. Sec. 657(b).
       Termination of task force. Subsection (g) of new 44 U.S.C. 
     Sec. 3520 provides that the task force shall terminate upon 
     completion of its work.
       Definition of ``small business concern.'' Subsection (h) of 
     new 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3520 makes applicable the definition of 
     ``small business concern'' in the Small Business Act, 15 
     U.S.C. Sec. 632.

               Section 4. Regulatory enforcement reports

       Section 4 of the bill requires that each agency shall 
     submit an initial report and a final report on each of the 
     following:
       (A) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil 
     penalty is assessed.
       (B) The number of enforcement actions in which a civil 
     penalty is assessed against a small entity.
       (C) The number of enforcement actions described under items 
     (A) and (B), above, in which the civil penalty is reduced or 
     waived.
       (D) The total monetary amount of the reductions or waivers 
     referred to under item (C), above.
       Each report shall include the definitions, selected at the 
     discretion of the agency submitting the report, of the terms 
     ``enforcement actions,'' ``reduction or waiver,'' and ``small 
     entity'' as used in the report. This provision, recognizing 
     that agencies have different policies governing their 
     enforcement activities and different ways of tracking these 
     activities, seeks to avoid placing undue reporting burdens on 
     agencies.
       The initial report shall include information with respect 
     to the 1-year period beginning on October 1, 2002, and shall 
     be submitted not later than December 31, 2003. The final 
     report shall include information with respect to the 1-year 
     period beginning on October 1, 2003, and shall be submitted 
     not later than December 31, 2004. Each agency shall submit 
     the initial report and the final report to certain committees 
     of Congress identified in the bill and to the Small Business 
     and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated 
     under 15 U.S.C. Sec. 657(b).
       For purposes of this section, the term ``agency'' has the 
     meaning under 5 U.S.C. Sec. 551, which is the definition 
     under the Administrative Procedures Act, and agencies as so 
     defined are required to submit the reports under this 
     section.


                        iii. legislative history

       H.R. 327 was introduced by Rep. Dan Burton on January 31, 
     2001, and was referred to the Committee on Government Reform 
     and to the Committee on Small Business. The bill now has 11 
     cosponsors. At the Government Reform Committee, the bill was 
     further referred to the Subcommittee on Energy Policy, 
     Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs.
       On March 15, 2001, H.R. 327 was brought before the 
     Committee of the Whole House and then before the House. A 
     managers' amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed 
     to by voice vote, and then H.R. 327, as so amended, was 
     passed by a unanimous vote of 416 to 0. On that same day, 
     H.R. 327 was received in the Senate and referred to the 
     Committee on Governmental Affairs.
       A companion bill in the Senate, S. 1271, was introduced on 
     July 30, 2001, by Senator Voinovich, for himself and Senators 
     Lincoln and Leahy, and was referred to the Governmental 
     Affairs Committee. The bill now has 13 additional cosponsors: 
     Senators Bond, Bunning, Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, Collins, 
     Conrad, Dayton, Jeffords, Kerry, Lieberman, Miller, and 
     Thompson.
       S. 1271 was considered by the Governmental Affairs 
     Committee at its business meeting on November 14, 2001, where 
     Senator Voinovich offered an amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute, which included suggestions made by Senator 
     Lieberman and others. The Committee adopted the amendment by 
     voice vote and ordered the bill, as amended, favorably 
     reported by voice vote.
       On December 17, 2001, the Senate by unanimous consent 
     agreed to a technical amendment to S. 1271 offered on behalf 
     of Senator Lieberman and an additional amendment offered on 
     behalf of Senator Kerry, and passed S. 1271 as so amended.
       This Consensus Amendment is based primarily on the 
     provisions of H.R. 327, as it passed the House, and the 
     provisions of S. 1271, as it passed the Senate. Bipartisan, 
     bicameral discussions among interested Members of the House 
     and Senate--principally, Representatives Burton, Waxman, Ose, 
     and Tierney and Senators Lieberman and Voinovich--yielded 
     this consensus proposal.
       Principal differences between the Consensus Amendment and 
     the two earlier bills, S. 1271 and H.R. 327, include:
       The Consensus Amendment requires that the Director of OMB 
     publish annually a list of compliance assistance resources 
     available to small businesses. This requirement was in S. 
     1271 but not in H.R. 327.
       The Consensus Amendment, like H.R. 327, spells out a more 
     detailed and extensive agenda for the task force than S. 1271 
     in the areas of electronic submission and dissemination of 
     information. Also like H.R. 327, the Consensus Amendment 
     requires the task force to issue two reports, one year after 
     enactment and two years after enactment, whereas S. 1271 
     required only a single report one year after enactment.
       The Consensus Amendment, like S. 1271, instructs the task 
     force to examine the feasibility and helpfulness of 
     publishing an annual list by the Director of OMB of 
     information-collection requirements applicable to small 
     business concerns, organized by North American Industrial 
     Classification or another useful system. H.R. 327 instead 
     included a requirement that the Director annually publish 
     such a list.
       The Consensus Amendment provides that the task force will 
     examine whether agencies should be required to allow small 
     businesses to synchronize reporting for submissions having 
     the same frequency, e.g., by filing quarterly reports on the 
     same date each quarter. S. 1271 included no corresponding 
     provision. H.R. 327, on the other hand, provided that the 
     task force would examine whether agencies should be required 
     to allow submissions ``on the same date.'' The Consensus 
     Amendment provision is derived from H.R. 327, but is 
     limited to submissions having the same frequency, to 
     clarify that the provision does not include changing the 
     frequency of periodic reports, e.g., by converting a 
     quarterly report into an annual report so that information 
     for the entire year could be filed ``on the same date'' as 
     another annual report.

[[Page S4736]]

       The Consensus Amendment requires the task force to publish 
     notice and to provide an opportunity for comment on each 
     report in draft form, and to make provision in each report 
     for the inclusion of any separate views of task force members 
     and a summary of significant public comments. This provision 
     is found in neither S. 1271 nor H.R. 327.
       Like S. 1271, the Consensus Amendment includes a section 
     requiring agencies to submit reports providing data about 
     enforcement and penalty actions against both small entities 
     and all entities. H.R. 327 contains no such provision. The 
     section in the Consensus Amendment is based on S. 1271, but 
     with modifications to clarify the agencies' reporting 
     obligations and to avoid unnecessary burden on agencies. 
     Whereas the reports under S. 1271 would have been due one 
     year after enactment and every two years thereafter, the 
     Consensus Amendment provides lead time by establishing the 
     first due date on December 31, 2003, and requires one further 
     report due one year later. Also, the Consensus Amendment 
     specifies the one-year reporting period to be covered by each 
     report, and states explicitly that each agency has discretion 
     in defining certain terms as used in the agency's reports.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I am pleased that today the Senate has 
passed H.R. 327, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002.
  As my colleagues know, small businesses are the backbone of our 
economy and significantly important to the fiscal health of the United 
States. Small businesses constitute more than 90 percent of this 
nation's employers, employ 53 percent of the private workforce, and 
create approximately 74 percent of this country's new jobs.
  While on the whole, America's small business owners are successful, 
the numerous federal paperwork requirements that they must face, I 
believe, have had a negative impact on further entrepreneurial growth 
in the United States. There is little doubt that America's small 
business owners could be even more successful if they were able to 
devote more time and resources to their businesses instead of mountains 
of federal paperwork. That is why I introduced S. 1271, the Senate 
companion to H.R. 327, on July 30, 2001. I was pleased when the Senate 
passed S. 1271 on December 17, 2001.
  This ``good government'' legislation continues the efforts on the 
part of Congress to streamline and reduce paperwork burdens on small 
businesses and help increase the productivity of American business. The 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has estimated that the federal 
paperwork burden is 7.2 billion hours annually, at a cost of some $190 
billion per year. Small business owners are particularly hurt by 
regulatory and paperwork burdens. The Small Business Administration 
(SBA) estimates that the costs to small businesses are a staggering 
$5,100 per employee. While many of these requirements are important and 
necessary, the high costs of understanding them and complying with them 
can sometimes prevent small businesses from being able to expand or 
even stay afloat. In some cases, this burden can deter entrepreneurs 
from opening in the first place.
  The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 will help improve the 
ability of small business owners to understand and comply with federal 
regulations and paperwork mandates through the following helpful 
provisions:
  A requirement for the Office of Management and Budget to annually 
publish in the Federal Register and on the Internet a list of the 
compliance assistance resources available to small businesses;
  A requirement for each federal agency to establish a single point of 
contact to help small business owners fill out forms and comply with 
federal regulations;
  A requirement for each federal agency to make further efforts to 
reduce paperwork for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees;
  The establishment of an interagency task force to develop an 
interactive government web-site to help each small business owner 
understand which federal paperwork requirements and regulations apply 
to his or her business;
  An amendment to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act (SBREFA) to require that each agency provide information on the 
number of enforcement actions in which civil penalties are assessed, 
the number of such actions against small entities, the number of such 
actions in which civil penalties are reduced or waived, and the 
monetary amount of each reduction or waiver.
  I am pleased that the Senate has taken action in considering this 
important legislation, and I am also pleased that the bill enjoys 
bipartisan support. I would particularly like to thank Senator Blache 
Lincoln for joining me in introducing this bill. I would also thank 
Senators Lieberman and Thompson for cosponsoring this legislation and 
for their strong leadership in advancing it through the Governmental 
Affairs Committee and the Senate. I would like to thank all of the 
other cosponsors of S. 1271, Senators Bond, Bunning, Carnahan, Carper, 
Cleland, Conrad, Dayton, Jeffords, Kerry, Leahy, and Miller for their 
strong support.
  I would also recognize Representatives Dan Burton and Doug Ose and 
their staffs for their strong leadership in crafting, introducing and 
passing this measure in the House. I would like to thank Representative 
Henry Waxman and  John Tierney and all the members of the House of 
Representatives who supported this bipartisan effort.
  The Bush Administration is to be commended for their support of this 
bill and I appreciate the valuable recommendations of the Office of 
Management and Budget that will make this bill more effective in 
helping our Nation's small business owners. It is my hope that the 
House of Representatives will pass this final version of this measure 
shortly and that we will have a final bill for the President's 
signature very soon.
  The many business groups who have lent their support and helped us 
craft a solid bill are also deserving of mention, particularly: the 
National Federation of Independent Businesses; the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce; the American Farm Bureau Federation; the Cleveland Growth 
Association; the Associated Builders and Contractors; the National 
Association of Convenience Stores; the American Feed Industry 
Association; the National Association of Manufacturers; the National 
Tooling and Machining Association; National Small Business United; the 
National Restaurant Association; the National Pest Management 
Association; the Academy of General Dentistry; the American Road and 
Transportation Builders Association; the Small Business Coalition for 
Regulatory Relief; the Small Business Legislative Council; the Small 
Business Survival Committee; the Agricultural Retailer Association; the 
Associated General Contractors; the Automotive Parts and Service 
Alliance; the Food Marketing Institute; the National Automobile Dealers 
Association; the National Business Association; the National Roofing 
Contractors Association; the Society of American Florists and the North 
American Equipment Dealers Association.
  Finally, I would like to thank David Gray, a former employee of my 
Subcommittee staff, for all of his hard work on this legislation.
  Once again, I am pleased that the Senate has acted to provide relief 
to small business owners. This bill will help save time and money and 
will allow small business owners the ability to better understand and 
comply with federal regulations and paperwork requirements. It is good 
for the country and good for our economy, and I thank my colleagues for 
their support in passing this bill today.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, every once in a while this body passes 
legislation that just makes good common sense. Today is such an 
occasion. I am pleased that the Senate will vote today on the 
conference report on the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act, a bill 
that Senator Voinovich and I first introduced in July of 1999.
  I want to thank my good friend Senator Voinovich for his leadership 
on this issue. His staff members and former staff members, David Gray, 
Kathleen Braun, and Kristine Simmons, put in countless hours meeting 
with members of the business community, firefighters and the 
environmental community to achieve the balance that is represented here 
today. I also want to thank Senator Lieberman, without whose help we 
could not be here today. Senator Lieberman, as Chairman of the 
Governmental Affairs Committee, steered this legislation to its final 
form, and Larry Novey of his staff was invaluable. Kelly Rucker Bingel 
of my staff worked on this bill from its inception in 1999, and I thank 
her for her efforts.

[[Page S4737]]

  Since I began public service as a member of the House of 
Representatives in January of 1993, I have looked for opportunities to 
ease the regulatory burden on small businesses. They are the backbone 
of our economy in Arkansas.
  As I said when we first introduced this bill in 1999, the federal 
government should be a help to small businesses, not a hindrance. We 
should always seek to ensure that federal policies don't place undue 
burdens on small business owners and tie their hands in red tape.
  Small businesses are hit hardest by federal regulations. According to 
a recent study conducted for the Small Business Administration, ``firms 
employing fewer than 20 employees face an annual regulatory burden of 
$6,975 per employee, a burden nearly 60 percent above that facing a 
firm employing over 500 employees.'' This does not even take into 
account state and local government paperwork.
  I have been told that federal paperwork burdens rank just behind 
taxes and the cost of health care as the top problems facing members of 
the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
  This bill establishes a single point-of-contact for small businesses 
in each federal agency that governs small businesses. Second, it 
requires the OMB Director to annually publish in the Federal Register 
and on the Internet a list of compliance assistance resources available 
to small businesses. Third, it establishes a task force to determine 
how to streamline paperwork requirements for small businesses. It 
directs the task force to look at creating a single reporting format 
for all agencies that could be filed simultaneously and electronically. 
It is our hope that these steps will make it easier for businesses to 
access information and will allow policymakers to more easily identify 
and eliminate duplicative regulations.
  The original version of this bill, S. 1378, from the 106th Congress, 
suspended civil fines on small businesses for first-time paperwork 
violations if they corrected their error. Our thought behind suspending 
fines for first-time violators was that a majority of small business 
owners who neglect to file a certain form are simply overwhelmed with 
paperwork and don't realize their error. We thought that small business 
owners should be given a chance to correct the problem before they were 
slapped with a fine. I am disappointed that this final version does not 
include the fine suspension, but as I often tell my constituents, we 
can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. So I am delighted to 
see final passage of this bill.

                          ____________________