House GOP presses agencies on small business rules

House GOP lawmakers are launching a sweeping oversight effort aimed at ferreting out how agencies across the federal government weigh the potential impact on small businesses when crafting regulations.

House Small Business Republicans, led by Chair Roger Williams of Texas, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri and Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas, sent letters to 25 agencies Wednesday about their compliance with laws that require them to analyze the effects of new rules on small employers and to produce compliance guides for those firms. The committee's push is designed to shield small businesses from burdensome regulation.

The targets include the EPA, the DOL, the IRS and the CFPB. In the letters, committee Republicans cite examples where they said agency regulatory work has fallen short when it comes to small business impact.

Why it matters: The investigation by Williams, who owns a car dealership, is part of a broader House Republican oversight campaign that's digging into agency work across the Biden administration.

What's next: Williams said in a statement that the letters "are simply the starting point" of the committee's work.

"As our nation’s job creators deal with unprecedented levels of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and an inability to find quality workers, it is imperative we are not adding additional layers of compliance to further limit their ability to grow," Williams said.