Rep. Lynn Westmoreland: House Working to Cut Red Tape, Improve Transparency

Your Washington Desk:

House Working to Cut Red Tape, Improve Transparency

One of the highlights of my job is getting to come back to Georgia when Congress is out of session and meet with people of the Third District. It gives me the opportunity to really listen and discuss the issues most important to our communities and local businesses, and how I can better represent them in Washington.

After listening to educators, businessmen, and farmers over the past few months, it’s evident that a chief concern is the growing number of regulations and the struggle to cut through all the red tape. With agencies such as the EPA, IRS, and OSHA breathing down the necks of small businesses and manufacturers, it’s hard to keep a company afloat these says, let alone grow.

Each congress I’ve been a supporter of the REINS Act, which increases accountability for and transparency of federal regulations by requiring congressional approval for any federal regulation with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This year, the House is going further with the regulatory relief package, All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2013 (ALERT). This bill requires the administration to update and publish its monthly regulatory agenda online, publish the annual cost and benefits of the regulations, and require the Office of Management and Budget to publish any additional information on the internet to make sure it’s easily accessible to the public.

Removing costly regulations and improving transparency is one step closer to reducing the size of our government. Between ObamaCare and regulations, it seems as if this administration is more focused on controlling the lives of Americans than getting them back to work. It’s time that we get the government off the backs of the American people and work towards a government that promotes business, not suffocates it.