Hearing Recap: "Less Red Tape, More Opportunity: Unleashing American Workers and Job Creators"
Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) opened the hearing highlighting the several signs that businesses are ready to invest and expand.
“As a result of these commonsense policies, employers are becoming more optimistic about the American economy. In its July 2026 monthly Small Business Economic Trends Report, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index is at 99.8—higher than its average rating during the previous administration. When asked to evaluate the overall health of their businesses, 69 percent of employers responded that it was either excellent or good,” he said.
Witnesses discussed how workers and job creators want policies that make it easier to hire, work, invest, and build—not mandates that raise costs and limit opportunity.
“Compliance with the regulatory state is costly and those funds compete with paying higher wages, providing workers benefits, and expanding the productivity of the firm. It is essential that regulations be promulgated only where necessary and designed to have as small a cost as possible. The Trump Administration has an excellent track record in this area,” said Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President at the American Action Forum (AAF).
Mr. Austen Bannan, Employment Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity (AFP), touched on how over-bearing regulations can limit worker choice.
“[For example], a working mother who can’t go back to a full time job no longer has this option to pursue self-employment—worried that there would be some kind of regulatory barrier to that…that’s something that happens with independent contracting and the same goes for joint employer standards,” he explained.
Democrats used the hearing to bash the Trump administration for rolling back regulations. At one point the Democrat-invited witness was asked if there were any regulations she would reduce or streamline to lessen the burden on small businesses.
“In my purview [of worker’s safety and health]...there is nothing,” said Ms. Rebecca L. Reindel, Director of Occupational Safety and Health at AFL-CIO.
Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) discussed with Ms. Elizabeth Milito, Executive Director at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Legal Center, how most businesses want to protect their workers and should be treated as partners rather than threats to worker safety.
“[Businesses] care a lot about [their employees]…I can’t emphasize that enough. I have a real quick quote from an NFIB member in Michigan, ‘we are a small commercial roofing company, and I’ve been in business 48 years. We take great care of our employees—which is our most valuable asset,’” she said.
In a later exchange she re-emphasized this point, “Their employees are their friends, their neighbors, their family—they have every incentive to keep them safe.”
In an exchange with Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN), Ms. Milito used the federal heat standard to describe how excessive regulations harm small businesses.
“It’s the record keeping, the administrative work, whether or not you have to hire another employee to do the record keeping.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) pointed out the hypocrisy on the other side of the aisle.
“The Democrats live in this world of champagne socialism…it’s great to think about when you’re in Washington D.C. as a lobbyist or in the government but [when I owned a business] I had to live under the idiotic regulations that so many politicians came up with, that made it harder for me to hire people, to build my business, and to grow,” he explained.
Bottom line: Americans need the skills and freedom to succeed, and job creators need the certainty and flexibility to grow. Committee Republicans are focused on removing barriers to work, hiring, and opportunity.
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