Smart Regulation Committee

Policy Principles

• The United States needs a smarter, more modern regulatory environment that will meet regulatory goals while also promoting innovation, economic growth and job creation.

  Congress and the administration should take a smarter, more modern approach to regulation that will meet regulatory goals while also promoting innovation, economic growth and job creation. The key distinction is not more versus less regulation but effective versus ineffective regulation. Overly burdensome regulations directly and negatively impact economic growth - Americans spend 11.5 billion man hours yearly on paperwork.

  While some regulations in isolation may not appear significant to growth, their cumulative effect has drained resources from innovation and job creation.

• Congress and the Administration should work to create a Streamlined Federal Permitting Process

  If the United States is going to compete and win in today’s global economy, policymakers must simplify, streamline and accelerate the permitting process, particularly for large-scale capital investments. Almost all businesses have identified the burdensome, slow and inconsistent permitting process as a significant obstacle to increased investment and economic growth. Reform of the permitting process can unlock companies’ financial assets for investment in job creating projects — encouraging the deployment of idle capital and enhancing economic growth and private-sector job creation in the near term. Policymakers have an obligation to identify and address factors that continue to impair U.S. economic growth and job creation.

• Overlapping agency jurisdiction is creating uncertainty and increasing costs on businesses, communities, and consumers.

  Businesses commonly find themselves subject to two or more regulatory agencies exercising concurrent jurisdiction over a single issue.  This problem is prevalent throughout government. Fragmented, overlapping or duplicative regulations and oversight do not simply increase compliance burdens, they increase the likelihood of inconsistency between agencies in how certain products or transactions are viewed, adding complexity and in some instances, conflict, that can undermine the regulatory objectives each agency is trying to achieve.

  A smarter and clearer allocation of permitting responsibilities among agencies would produce greater regulatory certainty, reduce delay, and enable Business Roundtable members to promote economic growth and create jobs.