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Business Roundtable Supports H.R. 5, Regulatory Accountability Act

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker 
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515
 
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515 
 
Dear Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi:
 
Re: Support for H.R. 5 – The Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017
 
On behalf of the CEO members of Business Roundtable, who lead major U.S. companies with more than $6 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 15 million employees, I am pleased to express our strong support for H.R. 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). 
 
Business Roundtable CEOs have consistently identified overly complex and burdensome federal regulations as harmful to accelerating job creation, job retention and increased economic opportunity for American workers and their families. We support a smarter approach to federal regulation that would engage regulated parties earlier in the process, improve the quality of information used to make regulatory decisions and consistently apply rigorous cost-benefit analysis to major regulatory proposals.
 
We are particularly pleased that H.R. 5 includes the previously introduced version of the Regulatory Accountability Act, also championed by Chairman Goodlatte, the ALERT Act, championed by Representative John Ratcliffe (R-TX), and the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act, championed by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO).
 
Overall, the smart regulatory improvements embodied in the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 will:
 
Make U.S. companies more competitive. Usually after prolonged periods of consideration, federal agencies regularly issue rules that impose large and often unnecessary burdens on U.S. businesses – burdens that foreign competitors may not have to bear. The Act will reduce these burdens. 
 
Enable U.S. companies to be more innovative. American businesses are the world’s most innovative, and that innovation supports America’s high standard of living. Rules that require particular technologies or approaches or fail to keep up with technological evolution can jeopardize future innovation. The Act will encourage flexible, non-prescriptive implementation that preserves the capacity to innovate.
 
Stimulate investment by enhancing business certainty. If companies are unsure about what regulators will require or how to comply with rules, they will be reluctant to commit capital to new or expanded productive investments. By encouraging early engagement with regulated parties and improving the transparency and accountability of the regulatory process, the Act will result in greater certainty for U.S. businesses and thereby accelerate job growth and investment.
 
The Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 would make the U.S. regulatory system more transparent, accountable and effective. We endorse this legislation and pledge our full support to see it enacted into law.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mark J. Costa
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Eastman Chemical Company
Chair, Smart Regulation Committee
Business Roundtable
 

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