Business Roundtable

Washington – Business Roundtable (BRT) President John Engler today lauded the Administration and the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for their renewed focus on regulatory reform which embraces many of the solutions offered in BRT’s Achieving Smarter Regulation report released in September.

BRT CEOs met with President Obama earlier this month and exchanged ideas on streamlining federal regulation, expediting federal permits and taking account of the cumulative economic impact of overlapping regulations from multiple agencies. Today, OIRA is expected to issue new regulatory guidance to executive branch agencies embracing many of these priorities.

“America’s CEOs believe that a smarter approach to federal regulation will accelerate business growth, encourage investment and speed up hiring,” Engler said.  “Unfortunately, the current U.S. regulatory regime tends to be so complex and inconsistent that regulations often do the exact opposite. We support the Administration’s effort to enact reforms that streamline the regulatory process, engage regulated parties earlier in the process and take account of the cumulative impact of regulations issued by multiple federal agencies.”

Regulation has provided substantial benefits to the country, but it has done so at a high cost, Engler said. The U.S. government can achieve its statutory objectives at less cost through “smarter regulation,” including early engagement of regulators with the public, the use of quality information, objective analysis of regulatory alternatives, consideration of costs and benefits, expert oversight, legislative accountability and a coordinated effort to lessen the cumulative economic impact of regulations issued by many different agencies.

Earlier this month, as part of its release of Taking Action for America: A CEO Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth, BRT CEOs called for the withdrawal or modification of each of eight proposed or pending regulations that they identified as particularly costly and burdensome to business. BRT CEOs also flagged dozens of additional regulations that could add costs and slow business expansion.

In addition to meeting with President Obama, BRT CEOs presented BRT’s regulatory reform ideas to the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and held numerous meetings with Administration officials, Members of Congress and their staffs.

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.