[House Report 119-383]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-383
======================================================================
DESTROYING UNNECESSARY, MISALIGNED, AND
PROHIBITIVE RED TAPE ACT
_______
November 21, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Williams of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4305]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4305) to direct the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration to establish a Red Tape
Hotline to receive notifications of burdensome agency rules,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary........................................2
II. Need for Legislation............................................2
III. Hearings........................................................3
IV. Committee Consideration.........................................3
V. Committee Votes.................................................3
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4305.................................8
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................8
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure8
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations............................8
X. Performance Goals and Objectives................................9
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs....................9
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits........................................................9
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement......................................9
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................9
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................9
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority...........................9
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........9
XVIII.Minority Views.................................................14
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Destroying Unnecessary, Misaligned,
and Prohibitive Red Tape Act'' or the ``DUMP Red Tape Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF RED TAPE HOTLINE.
Section 203 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634c) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Red Tape Hotline.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy
shall--
``(A) establish, operate, and maintain a hotline, to
be known as the `Red Tape Hotline' to receive a
notification from a small entity relating to the burden
of complying with a rule, guidance, policy statement,
or other activity of an agency that is applicable to
such concern;
``(B) establish an email address, submission form,
phone number, or such other method as determined
appropriate by the Chief Counsel for small entities to
submit such notifications to such hotline; and
``(C) establish a website providing such email
address, submission form, phone number, or other method
in a manner that is easily accessible.
``(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, the
Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall submit to the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration and Congress a report on the
Red Tape Hotline that includes--
``(A) the rules, guidance, policy statements, and
other activities for which notifications are most
frequently received, including the affected industry
sectors for such rules, guidance, policy statements, or
other activities (as applicable);
``(B) a summary of the notifications received,
including the type of small entity or other
organization that submitted the notification and the
geographic area and industry category from which the
notification was sent;
``(C) an identification of the agency that issued
each such rule, guidance, policy statement, or engaged
in such other activity, including an identification of
which such rule, guidance, or policy statement such
agency issued or an explanation of which such other
activity the agency engaged in, as applicable;
``(D) recommendations for each agency that issued
such a rule, guidance, policy statement, or engaged in
such other activity, for reducing the burden of such
rule, guidance, policy statement, or other activity on
small entities; and
``(E) a summary of actions taken by the Chief Counsel
to address such rules, guidance, policy statements, and
other activities, including any such rules, guidance,
policy statements, or other activities (as applicable)
for which the Chief Counsel submitted comments or
analysis.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `agency' has the meaning given such
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code; and
``(B) the terms `rule' and `small entity' have the
meanings given such terms, respectively, in section 601
of such title.''.
I. Purpose and Bill Summary
On July 10, 2025, Representative Wied introduced H.R. 4305,
the Destroying Unnecessary, Misaligned, and Prohibitive Red
Tape Act of 2025 or the DUMP Red Tape Act. H.R. 4305 directs
the Chief Counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration
Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) to establish a ``Red Tape
Hotline'' that allows small businesses to submit reports of
burdensome rulemakings, guidance, and other agency actions.
II. Need for Legislation
Every day, small business owners must manage federal
regulations that are often outdated, duplicative, or unclear as
part of their business responsibilities. Many of these
regulations are overly burdensome, requiring high compliance
costs that hurts Main Street's ability to grow, compete, and
innovate. Advocacy serves as a voice to support small
businesses with these issues through research, outreach, and
regulatory efforts.
On January 31, 2025, President Trump issued Executive
Orders 14192, ``Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation'' to
ease unnecessary regulatory burdens across the United States.
In line with the Trump Administration's deregulatory agenda,
Advocacy has taken action to provide small businesses with more
opportunities to share the specific regulatory burdens and
issues they face. On March 10, 2025, Advocacy launched a ``Red
Tape Hotline,'' an essential tool for small businesses to
report federal regulatory burdens and how the agency activity
may be impacting the small business. The hotline further helps
Advocacy compile information to assess and communicate the
concerns of small businesses to federal agencies.
The DUMP Red Tape Act codifies deregulatory efforts under
President Trump's Executive Orders by making the ``Red Tape
Hotline'' a permanent resource for small businesses. H.R. 4305
also requires Advocacy to report these submissions annually to
Congress, allowing for more effective policy making and
oversight.
This bill provides American small businesses with an avenue
to share the impact that burdensome regulations have had on
their ability to start, grow, and succeed. In addition, this
bill gives Congress another tool to identify and address
burdensome regulations that stifle small business success.
III. Hearings
On April 1, 2025, the Committee on Small Business held a
hearing examining matters related to H.R. 4305 entitled ``The
Golden Age: Unleashing Main Street Through Deregulation.''
IV. Committee Consideration
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on November 18, 2025, and ordered H.R.
4305, as amended, to be reported favorably to the House of
Representatives by a roll call vote of 18 ayes to 9 nos.
V. Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The Committee voted to favorably report H.R. 4305, as
amended, to the House of Representatives at 11:49 AM.
The Committee considered the following amendments to H.R.
4305:
Representative Wied offered an amendment in
the nature of a substitute. This amendment was adopted
by voice vote.
Representative Cisneros offered an amendment
to the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The
vote on the amendment failed, 12 ayes to 15 nos.
Representative Scholten offered an amendment
to the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The
vote on the amendment failed, 12 ayes to 15 nos.
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4305
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Destroying Unnecessary,
Misaligned, and Prohibitive Red Tape Act'' or the ``DUMP Red
Tape Act.''
Section 2. Establishment of Red Tape Hotline
This section requires the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to
operate and maintain an easily accessible ``Red Tape Hotline''
to receive notifications from small businesses relating to the
burden of complying with a rule, guidance, policy statement, or
other agency activity.
Additionally, this section requires Advocacy to submit an
annual report on the Red Tape Hotline to Congress and the
Administrator of the SBA. The report must include: the specific
agency activities for which notifications are most frequently
received and the affected industry sectors; a summary of the
notifications received including the type of small entity, its
geographic area, and industry category; an identification of
the agency and the specific rule, guidance, or policy statement
such agency issued or an explanation of which such other
activity the agency engaged in, as applicable; recommendations
for each agency identified to reduce the burden of such agency
on small businesses; and a summary of actions taken by the
Chief Counsel to address such agency activity, including any
such rules for which the Chief Counsel submitted comments or
analysis.
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
Pursuant to 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the cost
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974. At the time this report was filed, the Committee has
requested but not received a cost estimate from the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office.
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority,
and Tax Expenditures
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget
authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. While
the Committee has not received an estimate of new budget
authority contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee does
not believe that there will be any new or increased costs
attributable to this legislation.
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee on
Small Business with respect to the subject matter contained in
H.R. 4305 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of
this report.
X. Performance Goals and Objectives
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the goal of
H.R. 4305 is to give small businesses a direct line to Advocacy
to report burdensome regulations that are holding them back.
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4305 is known to
be duplicative of another Federal program, including any
program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits,
and Limited Tariff Benefits
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e),
9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee will adopt as its own the estimate of the
Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act.
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House,
the Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in
Art. I, Sec. 8, cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
PUBLIC LAW 94-305
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--STUDY OF SMALL BUSINESS
* * * * * * *
duties
Sec. 203.
(a) In General.--The Office of Advocacy shall also perform
the following duties on a continuing basis:
(1) serve as a focal point for the receipt of
complaints, criticisms, and suggestions concerning the
policies and activities of the Administration and any
other Federal agency which affects small businesses;
(2) counsel small businesses on how to resolve
questions and problems concerning the relationship of
the small business to the Federal Government;
(3) develop proposals for changes in the policies and
activities of any agency of the Federal Government
which will better fulfill the purposes of the Small
Business Act and communicate such proposals to the
appropriate Federal agencies;
(4) represent the views and interests of small
businesses before other Federal agencies whose policies
and activities may affect small business;
(5) enlist the cooperation and assistance of public
and private agencies, businesses, and other
organizations in disseminating information about the
programs and services provided by the Federal
Government which are of benefit to small businesses,
and information on how small businesses can participate
in or make use of such programs and services; and
(6) carry out the responsibilities of the Office of
Advocacy under chapter 6 of title 5, United States
Code.
(b) Outreach and Input From Small Businesses on Trade
Promotion Authority.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given
the term in section 551 of title 5, United
States Code;
(B) the term ``Chief Counsel for Advocacy''
means the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration;
(C) the term ``covered trade agreement''
means a trade agreement being negotiated
pursuant to section 103(b) of the Bipartisan
Congressional Trade Priorities and
Accountability Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-26;
19 U.S.C. 4202(b)); and
(D) the term ``Working Group'' means the
Interagency Working Group convened under
paragraph (2)(A).
(2) Working group.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after
the date on which the President submits the
notification required under section 105(a) of
the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities
and Accountability Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-
26; 19 U.S.C. 4204(a)), the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy shall convene an Interagency Working
Group, which shall consist of an employee from
each of the following agencies, as selected by
the head of the agency or an official delegated
by the head of the agency:
(i) The Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
(ii) The Department of Commerce.
(iii) The Department of Agriculture.
(iv) Any other agency that the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy, in consultation
with the United States Trade
Representative, determines to be
relevant with respect to the subject of
the covered trade agreement.
(B) Views of small businesses.--Not later
than 30 days after the date on which the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy convenes the Working Group
under subparagraph (A), the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy shall identify a diverse group of
small businesses, representatives of small
businesses, or a combination thereof, to
provide to the Working Group the views of small
businesses in the manufacturing, services, and
agriculture industries on the potential
economic effects of the covered trade
agreement.
(3) Report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days
after the date on which the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy convenes the Working Group under
paragraph (2)(A), the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy shall submit to the Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee
on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on
Small Business and the Committee on Ways and
Means of the House of Representatives a report
on the economic impacts of the covered trade
agreement on small businesses, which shall--
(i) identify the most important
priorities, opportunities, and
challenges to various industries from
the covered trade agreement;
(ii) assess the impact for new small
businesses to start exporting, or
increase their exports, to markets in
countries that are parties to the
covered trade agreement;
(iii) analyze the competitive
position of industries likely to be
significantly affected by the covered
trade agreement;
(iv) identify--
(I) any State-owned
enterprises in each country
participating in negotiations
for the covered trade agreement
that could pose a threat to
small businesses; and
(II) any steps to take to
create a level playing field
for those small businesses;
(v) identify any rule of an agency
that should be modified to become
compliant with the covered trade
agreement; and
(vi) include an overview of the
methodology used to develop the report,
including the number of small business
participants by industry, how those
small businesses were selected, and any
other factors that the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy may determine appropriate.
(B) Delayed submission.--To ensure that
negotiations for the covered trade agreement
are not disrupted, the President may require
that the Chief Counsel for Advocacy delay
submission of the report under subparagraph (A)
until after the negotiations for the covered
trade agreement are concluded, provided that
the delay allows the Chief Counsel for Advocacy
to submit the report to Congress not later than
45 days before the Senate or the House of
Representatives acts to approve or disapprove
the covered trade agreement.
(C) Avoidance of duplication.--The Chief
Counsel for Advocacy shall, to the extent
practicable, coordinate the submission of the
report under this paragraph with the United
States International Trade Commission, the
United States Trade Representative, other
agencies, and trade advisory committees to
avoid unnecessary duplication of reporting
requirements.
(c) Red Tape Hotline.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy shall--
(A) establish, operate, and maintain a
hotline, to be known as the ``Red Tape
Hotline'' to receive a notification from a
small entity relating to the burden of
complying with a rule, guidance, policy
statement, or other activity of an agency that
is applicable to such concern;
(B) establish an email address, submission
form, phone number, or such other method as
determined appropriate by the Chief Counsel for
small entities to submit such notifications to
such hotline; and
(C) establish a website providing such email
address, submission form, phone number, or
other method in a manner that is easily
accessible.
(2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, and annually
thereafter, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall submit
to the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration and Congress a report on the Red Tape
Hotline that includes--
(A) the rules, guidance, policy statements,
and other activities for which notifications
are most frequently received, including the
affected industry sectors for such rules,
guidance, policy statements, or other
activities (as applicable);
(B) a summary of the notifications received,
including the type of small entity or other
organization that submitted the notification
and the geographic area and industry category
from which the notification was sent;
(C) an identification of the agency that
issued each such rule, guidance, policy
statement, or engaged in such other activity,
including an identification of which such rule,
guidance, or policy statement such agency
issued or an explanation of which such other
activity the agency engaged in, as applicable;
(D) recommendations for each agency that
issued such a rule, guidance, policy statement,
or engaged in such other activity, for reducing
the burden of such rule, guidance, policy
statement, or other activity on small entities;
and
(E) a summary of actions taken by the Chief
Counsel to address such rules, guidance, policy
statements, and other activities, including any
such rules, guidance, policy statements, or
other activities (as applicable) for which the
Chief Counsel submitted comments or analysis.
(3) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given
such term in section 551 of title 5, United
States Code; and
(B) the terms ``rule'' and ``small entity''
have the meanings given such terms,
respectively, in section 601 of such title.
* * * * * * *
XVIII. MINORITY VIEWS
On March 10, 2025, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Administrator Loeffler announced an initiative, which would
``cut $100 billion in regulations through the Office of
Advocacy (Advocacy), launch a ``Red Tape Hotline'' for small
businesses to share feedback and submit burdensome regulations
for review, among other things.\1\ According to the SBA, the
``Red Tape Hotline'' would give small businesses another
mechanism to report regulations that are costly, confusing,
duplicative or outdated. Between January 20, 2025, and April
29, 2025, the ``Red Tape Hotline'' received 96 small business
requests and Advocacy is communicating those issues to federal
agencies.\2\ Despite repeated requests for more specific
information on the submissions, Advocacy has not shared the
topic or content with the Committee.
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\1\Press Release, U.S. Small Bus. Admin., SBA Announces Made in
America Initiative (Mar. 10, 2025), https://www.sba.gov/article/2025/
03/10/sba-announces-made-america-manufacturing-initiative.
\2\Off. of Advoc., First 100 Days, U.S. Small Bus. Admin. (Apr.
2025), https://
advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/First-100-Days_FINAL.pdf.
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The Trump Administration has made rolling back regulations
a priority, and many of the proposals trace back to Project
2025.\3\ These Project 2025 proposals would bring the
regulatory process to a standstill, harming the health, safety,
and welfare of Americans and small businesses alike. Blanket
deregulation creates confusion and uncertainty for small
business stakeholders, imposes steep costs and ultimately
hinders economic growth across multiple industries. I
acknowledge poorly crafted regulations can be onerous and
burdensome for small businesses; however, it is important to
find ways to balance the shared goal of minimizing the burdens
and achieving the intended effects of regulations.
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\3\Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, The Heritage
Found. (2024).
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The main points of concern with the ``DUMP Red Tape Act''
are:
The Title of the Legislation. The ``DUMP Red
Tape Act'' infers that regulations are inherently
harmful to small businesses. The Coalition for Sensible
Safeguards writes, the ``one-sided nature of this bill
creates the impression that it is more focused on
advancing an ideological attack on regulations than
actually helping small businesses.''\4\
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\4\Letter from Rachel Weintraub, Exec. Dir., Coal. for Sensible
Safeguards, to Roger Williams, Chair, H. Comm. on Small Bus., & Nydia
M. Velazquez, Ranking Member, H. Comm. on Small Bus. (Nov. 18, 2025)
(on file with the H. Comm. on Small Bus.).
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Lack of Transparency. The information
required in the report to Congress would not include
the type of organization submitting the notification to
the hotline. To that end, there would be no assurances
that the individual or small business submitting the
complaint is actually a small business or a business
that has had the assistance of a trade association or
law firm who represents larger clients, with the intent
of torpedoing the regulation. In 2014, the U.S.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a
scathing report that found Advocacy lacked policies for
documentation and maintaining records. In response to
the report, Advocacy wrote that the Office will
continue to develop how they disseminate information
about regulatory activities in ways that are both
responsive to the GAO's recommendations and the
furtherance of Advocacy's mission.\5\ During oversight
meetings with Committee staff and the Office, Advocacy
stated the Office has a process in place, whereby the
business self identifies as a small business, after
which the counsels conduct research into applicable
industry NAICS code and corresponding size standard
revenue to verify the claim.\6\
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\5\U.S. Gov't Accountability Off., GAO-14-525, Small Business
Administration: Office of Advocacy Needs to Improve Controls over
Research, Regulatory, and Workforce Planning Activities (Jul. 2014),
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-14-525.pdf.
\6\Meeting with Hon. Casey B. Mulligan, Chief Couns., Off. of
Advoc., Stephanie Fekete, Dir. of Interagency Affs., Off. of Advoc.,
and Committee staff at H. Comm. on Small Bus., in D.C. (Sept. 11,
2025).
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Focuses Only on ``Burdensome'' Regulations.
According to the site, the ``Red Tape Hotline'' gives
``small businesses owners a direct way to report
federal regulations that hurt their ability to grow,
compete, or innovate.'' The message is very one-sided,
asking small business owners to describe regulations
that are confusing, costly or outdated; result in
permitting or licensing delays; are duplicative of
conflicting rules; or result in excessive paperwork or
unclear guidance. It does not encourage small
businesses to report on regulations that are beneficial
to their small entity, in terms of leveling the playing
field, promoting innovation, or providing clear rules
of the road. In the letter from the Coalition on
Sensible Safeguards, Ms. Rachel Weintraub further
states:\7\
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\7\Weintraub, supra note 4.
Small businesses do not always oppose regulations or
desire to see them weakened. In fact, small businesses
often support regulations because they provide a level
playing field on which to compete with larger
corporations that would otherwise dominate the market.
Small businesses also tend to support agency guidance
and policy documents that provide plain-language
explanations on what is expected to reduce hazards and
avoid citations and penalties. In addition, small
businesses already receive unique opportunities to
provide input on rules and other actions that the
public does not receive. Yet this bill seeks only
information from some small businesses about so-called
burdens, rather than seeking to understand how
regulations affect small businesses--both the good and
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bad.
Lack of Information. Despite two specific
requests at the Committee staff level for information
pertaining to the types of requests that small
businesses are sharing on the hotline, Advocacy has
failed to provide the information. The submissions
could be related to tariffs and unpaid contracting
invoices, instead of rules. But the Committee lacked
the information, and the measure was rushed to mark-up
without adequate information to ensure changes are made
that could improve the hotline.
Message is Misleading. And the messaging
from the Administration suggesting that Advocacy is
``empowered by law to work across federal agencies to
identify and eliminate rules, policies, and procedures
that disproportionately burden small businesses and
manufacturers'' is misleading. Advocacy's role is to be
the voice of small businesses throughout the regulatory
process, not to be an anti-regulatory czar.
Lack of Independence From the SBA. Advocacy
is an independent office within the SBA that is
responsible for advancing the views and concerns of
small businesses before Congress, the White House,
federal agencies, the federal courts, and state and
local policymakers as appropriate.\8\ The independence
stemmed from concerns that SBA's Administrator reports
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and at the
time was more attuned to the interests of large
businesses. Congress responded by passing P.L. 94-305
to enhance the Chief Counsel's authority by requiring
Advocacy to be established as a separate, standalone
office within the SBA and requiring the Chief Counsel
to be appointed from civilian life by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. The Small Business
Jobs Act of 2010 required a separate appropriations
account for Advocacy, further enhancing its
independence by requiring a separate budget and also
office space, and equipment.\9\ Despite the intent for
independence, I believe Administrator Loeffler has
blurred the lines between the role of the SBA and the
Office of Advocacy, by stating it will work with the
Office of Advocacy to identify areas for deregulation
to reduce unneeded burden on small businesses.
Moreover, it is the Committee's understanding that the
SBA created and is now managing the hotline on
Advocacy's website.
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\8\Off. of Advoc., Background Paper: Office of Advocacy 2017-2020,
U.S. Small Bus. Admin. (Jan. 2021), https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2021/02/Background-Paper-Office-of-
Advocacy-2017-2020-web.pdf.
\9\Cong. Rsch. Serv., R43625, SBA Office of Advocacy: Overview,
History, and Current Issues (Mar. 30, 2022), https://www.congress.gov/
crs-product/R43625.
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Hotline is Redundant. Advocacy has main
webpage with the names and contact information of the
counsels for specific rules. The Office also has
regional advocates in 10 regions who identify issues
and concerns of small businesses. Moreover, there is
already an anti-regulation hotline on regulations.gov.
The hotline is duplicative and redundant, especially as
the government looks to be more efficient with taxpayer
funds.
Small businesses need certainty, and the Trump
Administration's actions are causing a tremendous amount of
chaos, confusion, and unpredictability for small businesses.
Democratic Members have sent letters to Administrator Loeffler
regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
infiltrating SBA headquarters, staff terminations, federal
funding freeze, the relocation of six regional offices, and
tariffs. No substantive responses have been received for any
letter. Similarly, Medicaid and health care cuts and tariffs
are actively harming America's main streets by reducing the
workforce and increasing operating costs.
Nydia M. Velazquez,
Ranking Member.
[all]