Addressing the Regulatory Barriers to Success

There are many barriers to our increased financial and economic success including time, capital, and taxes. One of the hidden obstacles to economic growth is the built-in cost of federal regulations on the products we buy and costs of living. However, a new study by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is shedding light on the costs of regulation to our economy.

The NAM study found federal regulations cost our economy more than $2 trillion per year. While many regulations serve as important safeguards to ensure opportunity, safety, and health, I hear from many Nebraskans about the negative impacts of unnecessary regulations on their lives and livelihoods.

I launched my Regulation Rewind project earlier this year to track how I am working to address the government-imposed rules directly affecting Nebraskans.

For example, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has held up approval of a renewal license for the Crow Butte Mine in Dawes County for more than seven years, and continues to delay decisions on critical expansion sites nearby. The mine has operated safely for more than two decades, producing uranium for our nation’s nuclear fleet and contributing tens of millions of dollars to Nebraska’s economy.

In July, I wrote to the NRC along with Senator Johanns and Senator Fischer to request an update on the applications and reasons for the delay. In August, the NRC responded, but only said it hoped to make a decision on the requests next year. Continuing to stall hurts not only the company, but also the community, especially as it relates to education funding.

Other examples of regulatory overreach include new rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which forced the Department of Defense to end the transfer of excess vehicles to state and local firefighting agencies. Through these programs, the Nebraska Forest Service has 570 refurbished vehicles on loan to 250 volunteer fire districts. These vehicles play a critical role in the defense against wildfires for volunteer fire departments which protect 99 percent of Nebraska’s land against wildfires.

In response, I joined several of my colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Defense, which was able to work out an agreement with the EPA to keep this program going. I also cosponsored the Firefighter Equipment Protection Act which would ensure this does not happen again.

To learn more about my efforts to overcome the regulatory barriers to Nebraska’s success, please visit my website at: https://adriansmith.house.gov/regulationrewind. And please continue to let me know how government overreach unnecessarily complicates your business or life. Together we can fight back and make a real difference.