Representatives from the chemical industry called on Congress to improve the federal regulatory system," including a requirement for cumulative impact assessments of proposed rules, to protect U.S. innovation, investment and jobs." Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight & Government Spending (yes, it's a long title), American Chemistry Council (ACC) Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Affairs Michael Walls noted:
"If manufacturing is to make a significant contribution to economic recovery, including the creation and maintenance of well-paying jobs, it is imperative that we have an accurate understanding of the impact of proposed regulations on industry. The full regulatory burden for a particular sector can only be known if the cumulative impact of overlapping regulations is identified."
In particular, Walls indicated that industry felt “the lack of cumulative impact assessments is a fundamental shortcoming in the way government agencies develop and evaluate proposed rules.” According to the ACC press release, Walls offered four recommendations to improve the economic analysis of proposed rules:
- Conduct cumulative impact assessments to identify the full regulatory burden being created by a proposed rule.
- Track the sectors affected by new regulations so the most heavily regulated sectors can be easily identified and regulations can be streamlined appropriately.
- Seek input from the businesses that will be affected before developing rules in order to better understand the effects that a potential rule may have.
- Conduct a more comprehensive analysis of the impact of a proposed rule on jobs that considers the type and quality of jobs being affected.
More information, including
Walls' testimony (PDF), can be found on the
ACC web site.
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