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One of the biggest obstacles to creating jobs and getting our economy moving again is burdensome regulations and unnecessary red tape. Having run a small business here in Brevard County I understand how overregulation can prevent businesses from expanding their facilities and hiring more employees.

We know that the increased cost from regulations put heavier burdens on businesses as business owners spend more to comply with government red tape and less on hiring workers and rewarding employees with pay increases. In fact, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the annual regulatory compliance costs for small businesses are upwards of $10,000 per employee per year.

While the Trump Administration has signaled that tackling overregulation will be a top priority, the House has already passed, with my support, legislation to undo many harmful regulations and reform the federal rulemaking process.

Requiring Congressional Approval of Costly New Regulations: Regulations are essentially laws made by unelected bureaucrats. The House recently passed legislation to make high cost regulations subject to Congressional approval. These are rules that will have an economic impact of $100 million or more, increase the price of goods or services, or have a significant adverse impact on competition or employment.

I was proud to cosponsor and help introduce this legislation which will give elected representatives in Congress final say over the future of major regulations and, by doing so, will strengthen the voice of the American people in what has unfortunately become the most common method for creating laws. Considering more than 600 major regulations have been finalized over the past 8 years, it is far past time for this process to guarantee Americans the transparency and accountability that Congressional votes ensure.

Adding More Transparency to the Rulemaking Process: When federal agencies distribute scientific research supporting a proposed regulation, the public, and those affected by it, deserve to be certain that the science is sound, and have a right to comment meaningfully on the rule. Unfortunately, when peer reviews of scientific research that a federal agency has relied on to craft new regulations return unfavorable comments, some agencies have acted to silence or hide those critiques from the public. This, of course, is bad science and it results in bad public policy.

To ensure fairness in the federal rulemaking process, the House recently approved my transparency amendment which will require that the public be provided with a clear timeline for disclosure of any influential scientific information. My amendment will also require agencies to offer an explanation if they revise the anticipated public release date of relevant studies. We cannot allow federal agencies to march toward a predetermined outcome at the expense of sound science and policy. Political cherry-picking of scientific information, and manipulation of the public record, harms both the quality of federal regulations, as well as the overall integrity of a rulemaking proceeding.

With a record 95 million Americans not participating in the labor force, Washington needs to put its focus on creating a more competitive economic environment that will allow businesses of all sizes to grow and create jobs. As your representative in Congress I am committed to finding common sense solutions that help more of our fellow Americans get back to work.