Contact:
Jan Wipijewski 414/297-1096
MADISON – Community and business leaders, concerned about excessive fines and burdensome enforcement of federal regulations, will discuss their concerns with Peter Sorum, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Ombudsman at a Regulatory Fairness Board Roundtable in Madison on April 27, 2004 from 9 a.m. to noon (registration from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) at American Family Insurance, Building A, 6000 American Parkway, Madison.
The forum offers small business owners and representatives from business and trade associations a chance to discuss openly, without fear of retaliation, their concerns about federal compliance practices in SBA Region V, which includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
“One of the biggest concerns small business owners face is unfair enforcement of federal regulations,” said National Ombudsman Michael Barrera. “They worry about telling their stories because they fear retaliation by federal agencies. Small business owners want to play by the rules and comply with federal regulation,” he said, “and we want to encourage federal regulators to assist business owners with compliance, instead of just penalizing the business.”
SBA district and regional offices around the country are hosting meetings such as this one in Madison. “By working together with small businesses and federal agencies we can make the federal regulatory process more cooperative and collaborative, encouraging a less punitive and more small-business friendly regulatory environment,” Wisconsin District Director Eric Ness said.
The Office of the National Ombudsman was created by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The act established 10 regional fairness boards, served by 50 small business owners from across the country.
Edward Aprahamian, president of Lezk Corporation in Shorewood, Wisconsin is a member of the board in Region V. Information gathered from the roundtable will be shared with government officials in the ombudsman’s annual report to Congress and with directors and managers of federal regulatory agencies to help them with their enforcement actions.
The Madison Roundtable is open to the public. However, those wishing to participate in the discussion should contact Becky Freund, Economic Development Specialist in the Madison district office at (608) 441-5519 prior to the meeting.
Comments and concerns about federal agency enforcement actions can be addressed directly to the Office of the National Ombudsman at 1-888-REGFAIR. For more information on the national ombudsman and this roundtable, visit the National Ombudsman’s Web site at www.sba.gov/ombudsman.
For information on SBA’s programs and services in Wisconsin, call the SBA district office in Madison at (608) 441-5263 or Milwaukee at (414) 297-3941. You can also visit the SBA Wisconsin district office Web site at www.sba.gov/wi.
