Right to comment to the Small Business Administration

Small entities may comment about BIS's enforcement and compliance process to the Office of the National Ombudsman, Small Business Administration, via the internet (www.sba.gov/ombudsman), e-mail ([email protected]), mail (Small Business Administration, Office of the National Ombudsman, 409 Third St., SW, Washington, D.C. 20416), or by calling 1-888-REG-FAIR.

Non-Retaliation Policy

The Office of the National Ombudsman of the Small Business Administration (SBA) has asked all Federal agencies to make clear that, if small business requests Ombudsman assistance on a matter or otherwise questions or complains about a federal agency action, the agency will not retaliate in response.

The Department of Commerce is committed to fair regulatory practices, supports the right of the regulated community to raise concerns about regulatory enforcement actions without the fear of retaliation, and will investigate any allegations of retaliation and take appropriate action. We take such concerns and allegations very seriously and strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

However, while the Department will investigate any allegation of retaliation, a complaint to the Ombudsman will not stop or delay investigations and legal or administrative proceedings as part of the Departments ongoing responsibility to enforce relevant Federal laws.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)

On March 29, 1996, the President signed into law the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996. The Act was designed to create a more cooperative regulatory environment between agencies and small businesses and requires impacted agencies to (1) perform a regulatory flexibility analysis when a final rule will have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities; (2) "whenever appropriate", provide guidance to assist small businesses in complying with the agency's statutes and regulations and establish a program to respond to small business inquiries regarding such issues; and (3) establish a policy to provide for the "reduction, and under appropriate circumstances for the waiver" of civil penalties incurred by small businesses. A Small Business Administration National Ombudsman and ten Regional Regulatory Fairness Boards were designated to oversee implementation of the Act.

SBREFA provides for the development of a Regulatory Fairness (RegFair) Program by agencies whose enforcement and compliance activities impact small businesses and furnishes a mechanism through which small businesses may comment on the enforcement and compliance activities of the federal agencies that regulate them. The SBA National Ombudsman provides an annual report to Congress in which each agency is evaluated and rated on their efforts to carry out SBREFA. The evaluation is based upon the agency's implementation of the Act and, to the extent possible, implementation of recommendations developed by the Regulatory Fairness Boards resulting from nationwide hearings with small businesses.