Congresswoman Tenney Leads Small Business Committee Republicans in Oversight of Interior Department’s Regulatory Overreach and Expansion

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today joined with House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer in a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland regarding the Biden administration’s expanding regulatory burdens on small businesses. The letter is part of the Small Business Committee Republicans’ ongoing commitment to reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on small businesses. Specifically, Tenney and Luetkemeyer requested additional information on the Department of the Interior's implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), and Executive Order 13272.

“President Trump’s administration was laser-focused on reducing the burden on job creators by requiring two regulations to be cut before any one new regulation could be put into place,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “It was a policy innovation that cut bureaucratic red tape, helped our small businesses flourish, and created the strongest economy our country had seen in decades. Now, under the Biden administration, increased regulations are burdening our nation once again, especially at a time when we are already reeling from the lasting impacts of an ongoing supply chain crisis, labor shortages, and record-high inflation. This is especially true with Biden’s Department of the Interior, which is crushing our small businesses, farmers, and landowners with outrageous regulations. It is time for them to be reined in and once again serve the needs of the American people, not the bureaucratic elite.”

“As Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business, it is my responsibility to the American taxpayer and America’s small businesses to implement proper oversight to ensure transparency from Washington. This letter is intended to ensure the Biden Administration is properly and appropriately implementing laws designed to safeguard the interests of small businesses in the regulatory process. Burdensome regulations and a one-size-fits all regulatory approach should not be forced upon Main Street without fully taking into account the interests of American small businesses,” said Ranking Member Luetkemeyer. “Small businesses are already struggling under Biden’s reckless spending fueled inflation crisis. The last thing they should be doing is implementing more government red-tape.”

The Department of Interior has extensive powers in setting the policies and rules that govern our nation’s conservation policy. The Department’s bureaucratic intransigence is one of the primary reasons the channel connecting Sandy Pond in Oswego County to Lake Ontario was shut down last summer. This stopped boats in the harbor from accessing the wider lake, prohibiting tourists from accessing Lake Ontario for fishing and recreation. The shutdown devastated countless small businesses that were recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and rely on tourism for their livelihoods. It was an obvious example of the Department’s unwillingness to come to the table and develop solutions that benefit both conservation and small businesses. The information requested in this letter will better inform Congress so the Small Business Committee can enact thoughtful policies to bring the Department of Interior back to the table and address the concerns of small businesses.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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