Washington – Business Roundtable (BRT) today urged Congress and the Obama Administration to act swiftly on a comprehensive plan to facilitate business expansion and new hiring by reforming the federal regulatory process. The plan was released today in conjunction with a meeting of BRT member CEOs.

While BRT CEOs welcomed President Obama’s decision late last month to withdraw a new national air quality standard for ozone proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency – the most expensive environmental regulation ever proposed – America’s employers still face dozens of other complex and costly regulations proposed by numerous federal agencies that threaten U.S. job creation and economic growth.

“America’s CEOs are calling for smarter regulation – the kind that will bolster business growth, encourage investment and speed up hiring,” said Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company. “Unfortunately, the current U.S. regulatory regime tends to be so complex and inconsistent that regulations often do the exact opposite. We can turn that tide by ensuring pending and new rules are clear, consistent and wise for the long term. The private sector is focused on job creation. It’s time that every federal agency and department – including regulatory agencies – do the same.” 

Today’s report is part of a broader BRT reform effort. In its Roadmap for Growth released last year, BRT identified reforms that could be implemented quickly to spur economic recovery. Earlier this year, BRT identified 24 proposed major regulations that will harm job creation and proposed specific reforms to lessen their impact on the economy. BRT CEOs presented BRT’s regulatory reform ideas to the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and BRT has held numerous meetings with Administration officials, Members of Congress and their staffs.

“Achieving Smarter Regulation is the culmination of nearly a year of work by Business Roundtable CEOs,” said John Engler, President of Business Roundtable. “Our companies are focused on creating jobs, and they believe reforming the federal regulatory process is one of the best ways to help do that. It’s time for these ideas, and it’s time to put America back to work.”

BRT’s strategy for comprehensive reform emphasizes transparency and accountability and focuses on practical changes that would protect the public interest while minimizing costs to the economy. BRT recommends that:

• The government should objectively analyze the costs and benefits of proposed and final major rules from all agencies, including “independent” regulatory commissions.

• Agencies should publicly disclose the estimated costs of planned regulatory actions early in the regulatory process and with greater specificity.

• The federal government should streamline the permitting process for siting and operating a new facility/project.

• Congress should consider changes to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” particularly relating to the content of the rulemaking record and greater judicial scrutiny of that record.

Click here to view BRT’s Achieving Smarter Regulation report.

Click here to view BRT’s one-pager on Achieving Smarter Regulation.