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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced two bills to help alleviate the crushing burden of regulations on small businesses. The “Regulation Costs to Small Business Act” requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to conduct an annual study determining the total cost of federal regulations specifically to small businesses. The “Regulation Costs to America Act” requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an annual study determining the total cost of all federal regulations.

Requiring annual reports estimating the actual cost of federal regulations will give the American public and lawmakers a more accurate assessment of the total cost of federal regulation. Without reports like these, it also makes it harder for small businesses to plan for the future, or for aspiring entrepreneurs to account for the hidden costs of regulatory compliance when starting new businesses. 

“Currently there is no up-to-date assessment by the government showing what its federal regulations are costing small businesses and the American taxpayer,” said Rubio. “By requiring annual reports, we will have a sense of the cost of all the hurdles small businesses have to jump over and can determine just how excessive current regulations are on business owners.

“Burdensome red tape impedes small business growth, which slows job creation,” he added. “It is critical to have data showing where we can rein in the unnecessary and excessive regulations to stop them from crushing our economy.”

The National Small Business Association and Center for Freedom and Prosperity have endorsed the Regulation Costs to Small Business Act. The most current data provided by the SBA was published in a September 2010 report, “The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms,” which estimated the total cost of federal regulation at $1.75 trillion and is based on 2008 data.