[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.
____________________