Federal agencies must protect small businesses

President Bush signed an executive order last week requiring federal agencies, when writing new rules and regulations, to implement policies protecting small businesses. The order requires all federal agencies, including independent agencies, to submit to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)within 90 days their plans on how they account for small business in their rule-making process. Agencies have 180 days to execute these plans. SBA research shows small businesses create close to 75% of net new jobs, but regulatory compliance costs them 60% more per employee than their big business counterparts.