Capitol Hill

In February, the House of Representatives approved regulatory reform legislation, Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act of 2014 (H.R. 2804), that NRCA strongly supports. Although the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, House passage represents progress on a priority issue for NRCA.

What has happened?

The proliferation of new regulations from the federal government is of great concern to many NRCA members. In recent years, numerous regulations have been issued by the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Labor Relations Board and other federal agencies that have had significant effects on the roofing industry. Additionally, employers affected by the Affordable Care Act's mandate to offer government-approved health insurance to employees now have to wade through thousands of pages of regulations to ensure they comply with the law.

As of early this year, there were 3,305 regulations being worked on by federal agencies with nearly one-third directly affecting small businesses, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). During the first two months of 2014, 72 new proposed federal regulations were issued that will affect small businesses; OIRA estimates 12 of them will result in $100 million or more in compliance costs. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service notes there are more than 175,500 pages in the Code of Federal Regulations, an increase of more than 21 percent during the past decade. The estimated cost of all federal regulations in 2013 was $112 billion, resulting in more than 67 million hours of paperwork, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Unfortunately, the end of the rapid growth of regulations is nowhere in sight. Regulatory challenges faced by employers are likely to grow in the years to come as President Obama continues to pursue his policy agenda by issuing even more regulations.

An urgent issue

Given this reality, NRCA has made the enactment of regulatory reform legislation a key objective. Such legislation is designed to reform the process under which federal agencies develop regulations and minimize adverse effects on employers and the economy. This can be done by implementing procedures that provide more opportunities for input from affected industries and other reforms in a more transparent development process.

H.R. 2804 contains numerous reforms needed to improve the regulatory development process in such a way that lowers burdensome costs and improves the quality of regulations. The bill would, for the first time in 65 years, overhaul the Administrative Procedures Act, which governs the process by which agencies develop regulations. The bill would require federal agencies to choose the lowest-cost rulemaking alternative that meets statutory objectives; improve agency fact-finding processes; require formal rulemakings in more situations to increase public input before regulations are proposed; and fortify judicial review standards for new regulations.

NRCA believes these reforms would enhance the ability of business groups to influence the regulatory process. For example, had the reforms in H.R. 2804 been in place in 2010, OSHA would have had to issue its fall-protection directive through the normal rulemaking process, providing for more transparency in the directive's development and giving NRCA and other stakeholders an opportunity for input through public notice and comment.

Potential block

NRCA is pleased H.R. 2804 was approved by the House on a vote of 236-179 with significant bipartisan support. NRCA also is encouraged similar legislation in the Senate, the Regulatory Accountability Act (S. 1029), also has garnered bipartisan support. This shows lawmakers in both parties recognize regulatory reform is an important issue that must be addressed.

However, the outlook in the Senate is not favorable at this time because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) generally is avoiding controversial bills until after the November midterm elections. Moreover, the Obama administration issued a veto threat when the House passed H.R. 2804, raising another obstacle to enact this legislation.

NRCA understands the ongoing concerns of the roofing industry and will continue to make regulatory reform a top priority. Members of Congress who have spearheaded this legislation are cautiously optimistic there will be a window of opportunity to enact bipartisan reform in 2015 after the elections take place.

Duane L. Musser is NRCA's vice president of government relations.