Senator Heitkamp was in Dickinson this week listening to business owners talk about burdensome regulation created by government bureaucracy. The bipartisan #CutRedTape initiative was created to give those not represented by strong lobbying interests an access point to government. The full news release follows below.
For more coverage, you can catch this article from the Dickinson Press.
— Official News Release, Senator Heitkamp —
Building on her efforts to help make the federal government more effective and efficient, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today held the first local roundtable discussion on her bipartisan #CutRedTape Initiative to hear about the impact of federal regulations on businesses and families, encourage North Dakotans to share their stories, and discuss solutions to reduce regulatory burdens.
Heitkamp, the top Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee overseeing the federal regulatory process, launched her bipartisan #CutRedTape Initiative in March with Subcommittee Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) to gather stories from families, farmers, and small business owners on how federal regulations impact them, and what can be done to make federal regulations work better by reducing waste and cutting red tape.
Today, Heitkamp heard from local business owners and community leaders about several challenges they encounter that make it harder for them to do their jobs – including burdensome paperwork requirements, confusing compliance requirements, and a lack of communication between businesses and federal agencies during the rulemaking process. During the discussion, Heitkamp reinforced that to try to make changes to federal regulations, she needs to hear stories about challenges North Dakotans face with federal regulations, and she encouraged North Dakotans to write in to her #CutRedTape Initiative. The more stories she and Lankford get, the more they will be able to determine if regulations need to be improved or updated to help reduce burdens.
“Federal regulations can play an important role in leveling the playing field for small businesses and protecting families and communities, but we can do more to cut red tape and make our government work better for the families and businesses it is supposed to serve,” said Heitkamp. “Today’s discussion was a great way for folks in North Dakota to share their concerns about the challenges they face every day trying to navigate the federal government, and how we can make it work better for North Dakotans. My bipartisan Cut Red Tape Initiative aims to tackle these issues, and I hope more North Dakota families, small business owners, and farmers and ranchers will write in if there are federal regulations making their jobs more difficult or that are overly burdensome, so we can work to make real improvements.”
Heitkamp spoke today with local small businesses owners like Randy Schwartz of Schwartz Construction, who has faced challenges through the years with burdensome and unnecessary paperwork when dealing with federal highway contracts. She also discussed compliance issues with community leaders like Gaylon Baker, Executive Vice President of Stark Development Corporation, who has run into conflicting compliance issues between levels of government when working to develop child care centers in the area. And Heitkamp heard from individuals like Vaune Cripe from Cornerstone Bank in Dickinson, who deals with complex banking regulations when working to meet the needs of customers in the area. Taking what she heard at today’s roundtable, Heitkamp will continue to gather stories and work to reduce this unnecessary waste and red tape with federal regulations.
Families, small business owners, and those impacted by federal regulations can submit their stories to Heitkamp’s #CutRedTape Initiative by visiting www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/rafm/cut-red-tape.
In February, Heitkamp spoke about the nation’s regulatory policies at a full Committee hearing and built on her efforts by leading her Subcommittee’s first hearing the following month on ways to make sure regulations don’t stifle innovation or harm businesses in North Dakota and across the country. In April, Heitkamp continued her push to make the federal government more effective and efficient by helping lead a Subcommittee hearing on judicial review within the federal regulatory process.
