Richard D. Draper, CEO and co-founder of the Ice Cream Club, Inc., testified today on behalf of IDFA before members of the House Committee on Small Business. He urged committee members to consider ways to ensure that federal agencies streamline regulations to make them more efficient and less burdensome, especially for small businesses.

The committee called the hearing, titled "Reducing Federal Agency Overreach: Modernizing the Regulatory Flexibility Act," to gather input from small businesses within a variety of industries on ways to reform the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The act mandates that regulatory agencies must consider the often disproportionate impact of regulations on small businesses prior to imposing them. This hearing will lay the foundation for the committee's recommendations regarding legislative reform and compliance with the act.

In his testimony, Draper highlighted several areas, including food safety, federal procurement and dairy policy, where the RFA could be more fully enforced or improved. He cautioned against duplicative regulatory efforts by various levels of government and a "one-size-fits-all" approach to regulation.

"We welcome government regulation, inspection and education when it is utilized as a partnership between industry and government to further enhance the safety of food production," Draper said. "My concern about the prospect of additional regulations, absent a comprehensive understanding of the ultimate impact to small businesses, is that the effects could ultimately make the cost of doing business prohibitive, especially to small business."

His full testimony is available here.

Ice Cream Club, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Fla., manufactures and distributes premium parlor-style ice cream, yogurt and related products throughout the Southeastern United States. The company employs 50 people and operates from an 18,000 square-foot facility.

Witnesses representing the National Telephone Cooperative Association, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association and KelleyDrye, a law firm, also testified before the committee.

For more information, contact Ashley Burch, IDFA assistant director of political programs, at aburch@idfa.org.