ENZI CONDEMNS DEMOCRAT REJECTION OF AMENDMENT TO PROTECT SMALL BUSINESSES FROM RISING COSTS OF UNFUNDED MANDATES

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-WY, today expressed disappointment with the Democrat majority’s rejection of his amendment to the budget bill that would protect small businesses and working families from runaway costs created by federal mandates. The amendment would have required a 60-vote threshold for the Senate to approve measures that impose new unfunded mandates, which are burdensome and costly dictates requiring businesses to take on additional regulatory duties and foot the bill. “Make no mistake: a no vote today was a vote against small businesses and working families,” Enzi said. “When America’s small business owners, their families, and their employees go to work each day, they deserve to know that the Members of this body will give pause to consider the consequences of the policies we pass when they are put into effect on Main Street. Today, Senate Democrats have denied them that peace of mind.” “Every time Washington pushes an unfunded mandate onto the backs of our small businesses, we drive up their operating costs and impede their ability to grow, create jobs, and compete in this increasingly global economy,” Enzi said. “By requiring that any legislation that places large mandates on small business receive 60 votes in the Senate, we could have ensured that a bill with enough support to win passage would reflect a reasonable, balanced package that would not become a burden on our nation’s small businesses.” Enzi, who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP Committee) and as a Member of the Senate Budget Committee, offered the amendment to the budget bill (S.Con.Res.21) to require that 60 Senators must vote in favor of new, unfunded private sector mandates if their projected cost to small businesses would exceed $131 million, which is the threshold set by the “Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.” ####