The July 2008 edition of The Small Business Advocate asks small businesses and trades to submit their nominations for federal rules most in need of review and reform, as part of Advocacy?s r3 initiative.

On July 1, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously issued three proposed rules relating to the use of credit ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. The proposed rules would reduce the way the Commission's own rules refer to and rely upon credit ratings. Comments are due September 5, 2008.

On June 30, 2008, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the Commission?s plans to unify America?s current generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

On July 15th 2008, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on the recently proposed amendments to its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. The hearing will provide an opportunity for interested persons to express their views directly to Department officials. The public hearing is scheduled for July 15, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. The hearing will be held at the Marriott Hotel at Metro Center, 775 12th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 737-2200. Individuals who would like to speak at the hearing should contact Linda Garrett, Civil Rights Program Specialist, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division by email at Linda.Garrett@usdoj.gov or by telephone at (202) 353-0423. The Department will also continue to accept written comments on the proposed amendments until August 18, 2008

On June 11, 2008, the U.S. Small Business Administration?s Office of Advocacy filed comments on the Department of Housing and Urban Development?s (HUD) proposed regulations on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA): Proposed Rule to Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining Mortgages and Reduce Consumer Settlement Costs.

The number of small business loans outstanding under $1 million increased by 15 percent between June 2006 and June 2007, according to a report, Small Business and Micro Business Lending in the United States for Data Years 2006-2007, released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The number of small business loans outstanding under $1 million increased by 15 percent between June 2006 and June 2007, according to a report, Small Business and Micro Business Lending in the United States for Data Years 2006-2007, released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Office of Advocacy periodically funds small business research from researchers through requests for quotations (RFQs). Areas of continuing interest are listed and have been chosen because they are researchable, show the status or role of small businesses, can be a catalyst for further research, or can affect public policy.

On May 16, 2008, the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council (FAR) published a proposed regulation seeking comments on changes to an existing proposed regulation on Contractor Compliance Program and Integrity Reporting published on November 14, 2007. The porposed change would require contractors to establish a code of business ethics and conduct, business ethics awareness and compliance program, and internal control system applicable to contracts performed outside of the United States. In addition the proposed regulatory change would establish a requirement for contractors to report violations of the civil False Claims Act, and knowing failure to timely report such violations would become an additional cause for debarment or suspension. Comments are due on July 15, 2008.

Two professors and a doctoral student today received the Office of Advocacy?s ?Best Paper? award at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The award honors Assistant Professor of Organizations, Strategy, and International Management Seung-Hyun Lee, Ph.D. Student Yasuhiro Yamakawa, and Provost?s Distinguished Professor of Global Strategy Mike W. Peng, all with the School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas for their paper Entrepreneurship and the Barrier to Exit: How Does an Entrepreneur-Friendly Bankruptcy Law Affect Entrepreneurship Development at a Societal Level?

Two professors and a doctoral student today received the Office of Advocacy?s ?Best Paper? award at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The award honors Assistant Professor of Organizations, Strategy, and International Management Seung-Hyun Lee, Ph.D. Student Yasuhiro Yamakawa, and Provost?s Distinguished Professor of Global Strategy Mike W. Peng, all with the School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas for their paper Entrepreneurship and the Barrier to Exit: How Does an Entrepreneur-Friendly Bankruptcy Law Affect Entrepreneurship Development at a Societal Level?

On June 4, 2008, the Office of Advocacy sent a letter, co-signed by the U.S. Small Business Administration?s National Ombudsman, to Representatives Stephen Buyer and Jim Matheson in support of their legislation (H.R. 5839) that addresses many concerns of small secondary and independent pharmaceutical distributors as they relate to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?s drug pedigree rule.

The June issue of The Small Business Advocate examines progress toward regulatory flexibility in Texas and Louisiana.

On May 8, 2008, the Department of Treasury Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published a proposed rule that would amend its distilled spirits plant regulations. TTB issued the proposed rule in response to comments submitted by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States regarding a proposed rule published by TTB in November 1998. Comments on the proposed rule are due by August 6, 2008.

Self-employed women differ from their wage and salary earning counterparts in several human capital areas, according to a report, Human Capital and Women?s Business Ownership, released by Advocacy. Most notably, self-employed women tend to be older, are better educated, and have more managerial experience than wage and salary earners.

Self-employed women differ from their wage and salary earning counterparts in several human capital areas, according to a report, Human Capital and Women?s Business Ownership, released by Advocacy. Most notably, self-employed women tend to be older, are better educated, and have more managerial experience than wage and salary earners.

On April 25, 2008, the U.S. Small Business Administration?s Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) submitted comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on DHS' Supplemental Proposed Rule on Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter (?No-Match? rule). Advocacy?s letter recommends that DHS consider alternatives that will reduce the costs and impacts of the rule on small entities.

Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan today announced his strong support for the recently introduced ?Independent Office of Advocacy and Small Business Regulatory Reform Act of 2008.? U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) co-sponsored the bill.

On April 23, 2008, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed a comment letter with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities.

On February, 28, 2008, Advocacy announced the 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform. The Top 10 are drawn from over 80 rules nominated by small business owners and their representatives as part of the Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative. The 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform are listed in the Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), FY 2007.

The FY 2007 annual report to the Congress and the President on implementation of the RFA and Executive Order 13272 features a special section on Advocacy?s r3 initiative including information about the top ten r3 nominations for 2008. In FY 2007, Advocacy involvement in agency rulemakings helped secure $2.6 billion in first-year cost savings and $285 million in recurring annual savings for small entities

The Office of Advocacy today announced the 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform. The Top 10 are drawn from over 80 rules nominated by small business owners and their representatives as part of the Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative. The recommendations have been transmitted to the appropriate federal agencies for their action.

On February 25, 2008, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission applauding its proposed rule Internal Control Over Financial Reporting In Exchange Act; Periodic Reports of Non-Accelerated Filers. In the rule the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a one-year extension of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for smaller public companies and is commencing a study on the impact of Section 404 on these entities.

On November 29, 2007, the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, submitted the report Evaluation of Barrier Removal Costs Associated with the 2004 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines, prepared by E. H. Pechan and Associates, Inc., to the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

The Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reform will reward the nation?s small business environmental stewards, according to testimony by Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan. Sullivan said that the incentive of using a shorter form and less burdensome analysis would encourage small businesses to recycle hazardous chemicals, rather than discharge them into the environment.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 requires certain facilities to report the quantities of routine and accidental releases of certain chemicals each calendar year. Information from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is widely used by both the public, and local, state, and federal regulators. A December 2006 EPA reform of TRI reporting requirements reduced the burden on covered facilities with low release levels and low waste management activity. This report analyzes how this burden reduction effort affects a wide range of identified TRI data uses and concludes that, given the specific limited changes, the December 2006 burden reduction rule had no significant effect on the use of TRI data.

On May 25, 2007, the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), praising SEC Commissioners Paul Atkins and Kathleen Casey for their willingness to reconsider the SEC decision not to extend the deadline for small public firm compliance with section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Advocacy wrote to the commissioners in the wake of the SEC?s decision not to grant postponement of deadlines for public firms with less than $75 million in market value.