WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is for the second year seeking nominations of federal rules in need of review and reform.  The 2009 "Top 10" rules nominated by small business owners, trade associations, and others will be transmitted to appropriate federal agencies for their action.
"Changing markets, technology, and competition make it imperative that federal agencies periodically review how their current regulations affect small business," said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy.  "Only with regular evaluation can agencies sift through the enormous number of current regulations to find those that are outdated and ineffective due to rapidly changing conditions.  We are calling for nominations of rules needing reform, and we are asking for constructive suggestions about how to improve them."
Nominate regulations needing review and reform by visiting the Office of Advocacy Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative website at www.sba.gov/advo/r3 and sending an email to advocacy@sba.gov <mailto:advocacy@sba.gov>, or by calling Keith Holman at (202) 205-6533.
In February, Advocacy announced the 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform.  The Top 10 were drawn from over 80 rules nominated by small business owners and their representatives.  In order to track agencies' action on these rules, Advocacy will post their status on its website every six months.
The Office of Advocacy is committed to helping reduce the $1.1 trillion yearly cost to Americans of complying with all with federal regulations.  The long-term r3 initiative does this by working with federal agencies and small business owners to review and reform existing rules that are outdated and ineffective. 
The Office of Advocacy, the "small business watchdog" of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President.  It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information on the r3 initiative, visit www.sba.gov/advo/r3.