U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) addressed the committee today, focusing on recent efforts by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory costs for small businesses. Ernst highlighted a reported $907 billion in regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration, which she said aims to lower expenses for American families and entrepreneurs.
Ernst contrasted these actions with what she described as a significant increase in regulations during the Biden administration. According to her remarks, over 107,000 pages of new rules were added to the Federal Register during President Biden's term, resulting in an estimated $1.8 trillion in costs and 256 million additional hours of paperwork for small business owners. She stated that "the regulatory costs of the Biden administration’s reckless rulemaking were more than 15 times higher than President Trump’s first term, and over three times higher that of Barack Obama’s entire presidency."
The senator also discussed legislative proposals she has introduced: the Prove It Act and Red Tape Act. These bills are intended to require federal agencies to account for both direct and indirect impacts of regulations on small businesses before finalizing them, increase oversight from the Office of Advocacy, and make cost disclosures more transparent.
Ernst noted recent deregulatory steps at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including a proposed update to Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rules following her CLEAR Waters Act. She stated that this would clarify coverage under WOTUS and prevent certain government overreach affecting farmers, landowners, and small businesses.
She also referenced efforts to overturn previous EPA findings related to greenhouse gas regulation: "I am also glad that the EPA is working to overturn the agency’s harmful Obama-era ‘endangerment finding,’ which allowed far-left administrations to pave the way for EV mandates and Green New Deal policies." Ernst cited estimates suggesting revoking this finding could save Americans $54 billion annually.
The hearing featured testimony from Dr. Casey Mulligan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. Ernst expressed appreciation for his work identifying regulatory challenges faced by small firms.
"Dr. Mulligan, thank you for your steadfast commitment to identifying regulatory pain points that make it difficult for small businesses to grow," said Ernst.
She concluded by expressing optimism about continued collaboration between lawmakers and federal agencies: "I look forward to hearing from Dr. Mulligan today about further ways we can work together to reduce regulatory burdens on small firms."
