National Association for the Self-Employed Endorses Proposed Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis

July 10, 1997

National Association for the Self-Employed Endorses Proposed Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis; Offers Suggestions for Legislation

Washington, D.C. -- In Congressional testimony today, the National Association for the Self-Employed offered support for legislation (H.R. 1704) to establish a Congressional Office of Regulatory Analysis (CORA), and suggested some improvements that would help define the office's purpose.

In testimony to the House Small Business Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Paperwork Reduction, NASE Senior Policy Advisor James Morrison said, "CORA will provide Congress with a source of objective information about regulations -- information that is not generated by those favoring or opposing a given regulation. Congress has long had this capability where budget issues are concerned. It ought to have the same kind of information regarding regulations."

For CORA to be as useful as possible, Morrison suggested three refinements:

Give CORA access to all analyses on new and existing regulations generated by federal agencies, SBA offices, GAO, and others;
Develop a mission statement for CORA which defines its processes, structure and authority;
State modest staff ceilings in the legislation that will be rigorously observed.

"In the end, these are adjustments of tone and emphasis in H.R. 1704, not changes in its basic purpose," Morrison concluded. "No doubt this important bill will soon be proudly supported by a wide range of small business associations and a majority of the Congress."

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