Washington, DC – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, voted for H.R. 4078, the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act, today.  This legislation – which passed the House – would impose a moratorium on non-health and emergency-related federal regulations until national unemployment drops below 6 percent.  The bill also includes measures to curtail so-called “midnight regulations” and to highlight the prevalence of “sue and settle” agreements. 

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in voting for legislation that focuses on the true ‘builders’ of our economy,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers.  “And while President Obama thinks that means the government, House Republicans know that means our small businesses.  That’s why we’ve passed legislation that would reduce costly rules and regulations on America’s small business owners.  Right now, there are over 4,000 federal regulations in the pipeline, which, if implemented, would cost over $500 billion.  If those rules take effect, it would have a devastating impact on jobs because every dollar that a business has to spend complying with regulations is a dollar they could be spending to create more jobs.

“At a time of near-record unemployment, we need to empower America’s job creators to focus on what they do best – creating jobs – instead of forcing them to file more paperwork.  The bill we approved today will do exactly that.”