In making their announcement, Republicans on the panel continued to press their case that overzealous regulations are weighing down the economy. Their release comes a day after the government initially estimated that the economy contracted slightly in the last three months of 2012.
{mosads}“Exports are falling and small businesses are sputtering under harmful government regulations,” said Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), the chairman of a Small Business subcommittee. “It’s important that we communicate to Washington and its regulators that there are real negative impacts and consequences to over-regulating.”
House Republicans consistently targeted regulations in the last Congress – passing the REINS Act, which would mandate that lawmakers approve any new rules with an economic effect of $100 million. A separate piece of legislation would have frozen significant new regulations until unemployment reached 6 percent.
Democrats have said that congressional Republicans are the major obstacle to economic growth.