House votes to beef up small business advocacy office
The House late Tuesday night voted in support of a measure to strengthen the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy to help it fight agency regulations on behalf of small businesses.
The bill (H.R. 4231) passed by voice vote. It was sponsored by House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo, R-Ill.
The legislation would give the Office of Advocacy a protected line item in President Bush's budget and create two deputy counsel positions for regulation and economic research.
The bill authorizes a larger budget for the Office of Advocacy to hire more staff to track federal regulations. It also encourages the SBA ombudsman to work more closely with the Office of Advocacy in coordinating opinions on the impact of regulations on small businesses.
The Senate, which passed a similar bill (S. 395) last year, is expected to take up the House bill within the next several weeks.
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