Lankford, Heitkamp Launch #CutRedTape Initiative to Gather Stories About Impacts of Federal Regulations

WASHINGTON, DC – During a press conference today, Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) launched a new bipartisan #CutRedTape Initiative, a new way for American families and businesses to communicate with the Senate about how federal regulations impact them.

In their new roles as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, Lankford and Heitkamp have made improving federal regulatory policy a top priority. They aim to use the stories submitted through the website to help make sure federal regulations work better for families and small businesses by reducing waste, stopping backlogs, and cutting red tape.

Currently, there is not a single location where Americans can provide insight about how federal regulations impact them. Now with Lankford and Heitkamp’s #CutRedTape Initiative, a central location will exist and the Senators will use the stories to determine areas where the federal government can cut red tape and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy so regulations can work as intended.  The new #CutRedTape Initiative webpage can be found by visiting www.hsgac.senate.gov.

“The federal rulemaking process has become very complicated and unaccountable, and it has resulted in unnecessarily burdensome regulations for many people and businesses across the country,” said Lankford. “I hear about real-world examples of harmful regulations across Oklahoma. This #CutRedTape Initiative will be very helpful for the Senate in identifying outdated and onerous regulations that are in desperate need of reform. The Senate will use these stories to help make the federal government more efficient and effective.”

“Federal regulations make sure the food we eat is safe, protect small businesses from fraud, and help keep our economy running,” said Heitkamp. “But the federal government is big, and there are good programs that can get caught up in unnecessary red tape. In North Dakota, I have heard about farmers and small businesses who are frustrated with well meaning, yet confusing, regulations that make it harder for them to succeed. One of our top priorities on our Subcommittee is finding bipartisan solutions to cut red tape as needed and make federal regulations more efficient so they do work for families and businesses. But to make changes, we need American families, small business owners, and workers to write in to our #CutRedTape Initiative to provide stories about how regulations are directly impacting them. Working together we can make needed reforms for families and businesses across the country.”

The initiative follows the first Subcommittee hearing Lankford and Heitkamp held last week, as well as a full Committee hearing in February to investigate commonsense improvements the federal government can make to promote efficient and effective federal rules. During the full Committee hearing, it became clear that there is not a central location for families and businesses to express concerns with federal regulations. As a result, Lankford and Heitkamp decided they would create that central hub to collect stories about how federal regulations impact everyday Americans, and seek changes to make them more efficient and effective. All stories will remain secure and confidential and the Subcommittee will not share personal information.

Lankford has made government reform a top priority of his service during his time in Congress. Before being elected to the Senate, Lankford chaired two subcommittees in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Lankford led 40 hearings between the two subcommittees on issues including a review of the administration’s regulatory process.

Heitkamp has long worked to promote streamlined, commonsense federal regulations that best serve consumers and small businesses across North Dakota and the U.S.  She has worked to reduce burdens on small businesses by leveling the playing field, supported community banks by updating federal privacy policies to better suit consumers and small financial institutions, helped make sure Fair Market Rents in North Dakota more accurately reflect the real cost of housing in the state, and reduced delays for permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands.

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CLICK HERE for the full video of the press conference. CLICK HERE for high-resolution photos of the press conference. CLICK HERE to view the #CutRedTape online portal.