Rep. Van Duyne Calls for Deregulating Main Street America

Texas Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R) and Roger Williams (R) are advocating for sweeping deregulation that would support small businesses, arguing that excessive federal regulations are negatively impacting Main Street America. In an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, the Texas lawmakers criticized what they call the “Biden regulatory regime” and emphasized the importance of reducing government red tape.

“Unlike large corporations, small businesses cannot afford teams of lawyers and accountants to deal with the burden of unnecessary red tape,” the lawmakers wrote. “To comply with the same regulations, small business owners pay an average of 20% more.”

According to Reps. Van Duyne and Williams, the federal government’s unchecked regulatory expansion has made it increasingly difficult for small businesses to compete. They argue that bureaucratic inefficiencies and a lack of market competition within government agencies have resulted in nearly “unattainable barriers to success.”

“How are small businesses supposed to compete in the marketplace when they are legally required to spend all their time and money on burdensome, government-crafted regulations?” they questioned in the op-ed.

In their effort to reverse these trends, Rep. Van Duyne introduced the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act, which would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to assess how regulations impact small businesses.

The lawmakers also praised President Donald Trump’s (R) executive order mandating federal agencies to “unleash prosperity through deregulation.”

“In contrast, 5 1/2 regulations were removed for every regulation created during the first Trump administration,” the lawmakers noted, adding that the incumbent president's new goal is for agencies to eliminate ten regulations for every new one implemented. The lawmakers go on to explain that this initiative will save small businesses “trillions of dollars and paperwork hours that could be better spent on business growth, long-term investments, and the salaries of new employees.”

The lawmakers insist that small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, contributing to over 62% of new jobs.

“We believe small business owners, not unelected bureaucrats, know best how to run their businesses, invest their money, and serve their communities,” they concluded. “Through deregulation, we can usher in a Golden Age for the American economy and unleash the potential of Main Street America.”