One of Sen. Dan Sullivan’s signature initiatives, the Regulations Endanger Democracy (RED) Tape Act, has been the topic of good discussion in the Empire recently, and I wanted to add some background so that Alaskans know just what the legislation does.
The idea behind the RED Tape Act is simple: It dictates that any agency wanting to issue a new regulation or amend an existing regulation that would create a financial or administrative burden must sunset one or more existing regulations. To put some teeth in the law, the RED Tape Act would withhold cost of living adjustments from any agency refusing to comply with the one-in-one-out rule.
Cutting burdensome regulations is one of Sen. Sullivan’s top priorities. According to the Small Business Administration, regulatory enforcement and compliance costs roughly $2 trillion per year. That’s equal to about $15,000 for each American household.
If U.S. regulations were a country, they would be the world’s 10th largest economy, ranking behind Russia and ahead of India. The Senator believes it is absolutely essential that we get the country’s stagnant economy moving again, giving hope to small businesses and hard-working Alaskans.
The issues of growth and opportunity transcend partisan politics. Even President Barack Obama mentioned cutting regulations in his State of the Union Address. Sen. Sullivan is happy to work with any member of Congress, as well as with the president, to strengthen our private sector and grow the economy.
Mike Anderson
Press secretary to U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan