Ernst Calls on Biden Administration to Scrap Burdensome, Costly Regulations on Small Businesses
The Iowa senator is the Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, today called on the Biden administration to rescind a newly-proposed rule that increases burdensome and costly greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) requirements on small businesses competing for federal contracts. The rule comes from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, which consists of the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
In a comment letter to the FAR Council, Ranking Member Ernst slammed the rule: “In addition to being confusing, contradictory, and misaligned with existing longstanding federal contracting standards, the proposed rule will disproportionately harm small businesses, including and especially those small, disadvantaged businesses the Administration purports to support, and will result in broader, deleterious impacts to the small business industrial base, affecting our national security posture and national economy.”
On November 14, 2022, the FAR Council proposed a rule requiring federal contractors to disclose greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks and to set science-based targets to reduce emissions. The total estimated cost of the rule to small businesses is over $103 million in the first year of implementation and over $62 million in the following years, however this figure is likely a significant underestimation of the true total cost of the impact.
Read the full comment letter here, which will be filed formally today in the regulation’s docket.
In a comment letter to the FAR Council, Ranking Member Ernst slammed the rule: “In addition to being confusing, contradictory, and misaligned with existing longstanding federal contracting standards, the proposed rule will disproportionately harm small businesses, including and especially those small, disadvantaged businesses the Administration purports to support, and will result in broader, deleterious impacts to the small business industrial base, affecting our national security posture and national economy.”
On November 14, 2022, the FAR Council proposed a rule requiring federal contractors to disclose greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks and to set science-based targets to reduce emissions. The total estimated cost of the rule to small businesses is over $103 million in the first year of implementation and over $62 million in the following years, however this figure is likely a significant underestimation of the true total cost of the impact.
Read the full comment letter here, which will be filed formally today in the regulation’s docket.
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