[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4473-H4474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ONE STOP SHOP FOR SMALL BUSINESS COMPLIANCE ACT OF 2021

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4877) to amend the Small Business Act to require the Small 
Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to create a 
centralized website for compliance guides, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4877

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``One Stop Shop for Small 
     Business Compliance Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. CENTRALIZED WEBSITE FOR COMPLIANCE GUIDES.

       Section 30 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
       ``(e) Centralized Website.--Not later than 6 months after 
     the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Ombudsman 
     shall maintain a publicly available website that includes--
       ``(1) hyperlinks to small entity compliance guides 
     described under section 212(a)(1) of the Small Business 
     Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996; and
       ``(2) with respect to each such small entity compliance 
     guide, the contact information for an individual who can 
     offer assistance to small entities with respect to the rules 
     that are the subject of such guide.
       ``(f) Report on Agency Compliance.--The Ombudsman shall 
     include in the annual report required under subsection 
     (b)(2)(C) an assessment of agency compliance with the 
     requirements of section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory 
     Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 for the year covered by such 
     annual report.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Luetkemeyer) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4877, the One Stop Shop 
for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021, which will require SBA's 
Office of the National Ombudsman to maintain a centralized website for 
regulatory compliance guides.
  Federal agencies are required by the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act to publish small entity compliance guides for 
each rule requiring a regulatory flexibility analysis.
  These compliance guides are meant to explain Federal rules in easy-
to-understand terms for small businesses and help them comply with 
Federal regulations that protect our environment, health, and consumer 
safety. However, small businesses do not always have the resources to 
navigate multiple agencies' websites to find these guides.
  H.R. 4877 will ensure the Office of the National Ombudsman maintains 
an updated centralized website containing links to each agency's small 
business compliance guides and their relevant points of contact.
  This simple step will significantly reduce the administrative burden 
on entrepreneurs, make compliance easier, and allow them to spend more 
time doing what they do best--running their businesses and creating 
jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Delgado and Van Duyne for 
working in a bipartisan manner to advance this bill to assist small 
businesses across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4877, the One Stop Shop for 
Small Business Compliance Act of 2021.
  Federal agencies are required to publish small business compliance 
guides for certain regulations. Presently, these guides are housed in 
different agency websites making it difficult for small businesses to 
find and utilize.
  This bipartisan legislation will create a one-stop-shop that will 
make it easier for small businesses to comply with Federal regulations. 
This bill will also require the centralized website to list contact 
information for the appropriate agency staff who could provide 
regulatory assistance to small businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado) and 
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne) for working in tandem to 
bring this issue to the forefront.
  H.R. 4877 passed out of committee by a voice vote and similar 
language passed the House floor in the 116th Congress. I encourage all 
Members to support this legislation.

[[Page H4474]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Delgado).
  Mr. DELGADO. Mr. Speaker, we all know that the past couple of years 
have been difficult on small businesses. COVID-19 upended life as we 
knew it. While America is turning a corner from the perspective of 
public health, the pandemic's aftershocks are still raising costs, 
scrambling supply chains, and disrupting labor markets.
  That is what I heard from folks in Cooperstown last month when I 
invited the SBA administrator to tour Main Street with me. That is what 
I heard a few days ago when I visited small businesses in Tannersville 
in Greene County. That is what I regularly hear from small 
businessowners at my townhall meetings across the district. That is why 
Congress should be doing everything it can to reduce burdens on small 
business owners. That is what my bipartisan bill, the One Stop Shop for 
Small Business Compliance Act, would do.
  In 1996, Congress passed a law requiring Federal agencies to publish 
easy-to-use regulation compliance guides for small businesses; a good 
idea that was poorly implemented.
  The problem is, these guides are housed on different agency websites, 
making it difficult for small businesses to find and utilize them. If 
you want to find something for OSHA, you have to go to the OSHA 
website. If you want to find FTC's compliance guide, you go look around 
at FTC.gov. These guides are scattered across countless government 
websites.
  My bill is simple, it would require the Small Business 
Administrator's Office of the National Ombudsman to create a 
centralized website that houses all Federal agency compliance guides in 
one place.
  By creating a one-stop-shop online, we make these guides more 
accessible for small business owners who often lack the resources to 
hire staff to focus on compliance issues. The platform would also list 
contact information for the appropriate agency staff who could provide 
regulatory assistance to small businesses.
  Small businesses are essential elements of the economic and social 
fabric of upstate New York. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation 
which will make it easier, not harder, for folks back home to run their 
businesses and access resources from the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne for her partnership 
on this bipartisan, commonsense legislation. I thank Chairwoman 
Velazquez and Ranking Member Luetkemeyer for their support, and I urge 
my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, in closing, having the rules of the 
road clearly and succinctly in one location for all small business 
owners is instrumental. The One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance 
Act of 2021 will ensure this occurs at the SBA.

  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for advancing this legislation that 
better informs the Nation's small businesses, and I urge my colleagues 
to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, in closing, small employers have 
experienced great hardships throughout the pandemic, but today we have 
the opportunity to make it easier, not harder, to comply with Federal 
regulations.
  The ombudsman's centralized website will streamline the compliance 
process for small businesses and ensure they have the most accurate and 
updated information.
  I thank the committee members for their diligence in advancing this 
piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'', and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4877.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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