Small business advocates testified against the economic state of Main Street America during a House Committee hearing, claiming the influx of regulations coming from the Biden administration was hurting Americans.
The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on July 10 to discuss the economic issues impacting Main Street America. Witnesses said the regulations passed by the Biden administration burdened small businesses and negatively affected Americans’ lives.
Witness James D. Ewing, owner and CEO of COE Distributing, said small businesses are “disproportionately hit by regulatory requirements.” Ewing also said that as a small business owner, the “time and cost” to be on top of regulatory requirements is “overly burdensome from a resource standpoint.”
Ewing said he understands the regulations involved in running a business; however, having too many regulations can harm a business.
“While regulations are inevitably a cost of doing business, we must ensure together that all businesses are not unduly impacted by red tape and disproportionate costs.”
Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fl), asked the witnesses whether or not they agreed with the claim that the current economic state of Main Stream America was the "most regulated environment" they had "ever seen" and the economic state was "breaking the back of small businesses."
"I would agree with that," Hazel Davis, vice president and compliance manager and cooperate responsibility officer for Jefferson Bank in San Antonio, Texas, said.
Steve Martinez, president of Tradewinds General Contracting, said he believes Americans live in an environment that is harder than the "financial meltdowns" of 2008 and 2012.
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), agreed with the witnesses at the hearing saying “over 900 new regulations” have been passed since president Biden took office; costing almost $440 billion and “climbing.” Rep. Stauber also said Biden’s regulations have given American small businesses “more than 226 million paperwork hours” and will cost Americans “more than 1.5 trillion” over the “next decade.”
Besides the cost and time burden, Rep. Stauber pointed to the economic expertise small businesses need to acquire to battle the influx of regulations from the Biden administration.
“Regulations such as these are unacceptable and often take away from growth opportunities from your businesses,” Rep. Stauber said. “Further, businesses should not need teams of compliance officers just to be able to compete in the marketplace.”
Davis said Jefferson Bank has numerous people on its compliance team and is expecting to hire more to deal with new regulations. Martinez, on the other hand, claimed he was on the compliance team. Both witnesses presented Congress with polar opposite compliance teams; however, both examples have their own issues.
“There is no hiding it anymore,” Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL) said during the hearing. “Bideneconomics is not working for America; for Main Street.”
After spending more than 20 years helping to grow a small business into a larger one, I've known firsthand how burdensome regulations can severely impact Main Street America. President Biden’s proposed tax increases, alongside his promise to allow Trump-era tax cuts expire, pose… pic.twitter.com/gCDTP64GKc
— Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) July 10, 2024