Hearings to examine Trump's regulatory rollback, focusing on saving Americans $907 billion and counting

Small Business Administration OversightSenate Small Business and Entrepreneurship · 2025-11-19 · 119th Congress
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee held this hearing to review the Trump administration's deregulatory efforts and their effects on small businesses, hearing testimony from Dr. Begins at 0:18:04
Transcript
Highlights

Title

SBA Advocacy chief testifies on regulatory rollback savings, tariffs, health costs

Purpose

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee held this hearing to review the Trump administration's deregulatory efforts and their effects on small businesses, hearing testimony from Dr. Casey Mulligan, SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy. Chair Ernst highlighted an estimated $907 billion in regulatory cost savings since January, while committee members questioned Mulligan on tariffs, health insurance premiums, rural lending, and SBA's 8(a) contracting program. Begins at0:18:04

Who spoke

Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA)0:18:04: Opened by citing 107,262 pages of Biden-era rules costing an estimated $1.8 trillion0:19:17, and said Trump-era actions have published $702 billion in savings and cut 72.1 million paperwork hours, totaling up to $907 billion so far0:20:09; touted her Clean WOTUS Act, PROVE IT Act, and RED TAPE Act0:21:020:22:200:23:11; later pressed Mulligan on holiday affordability0:31:24 and CFPB/EPA proposed rules0:34:29.

Dr. Casey Mulligan, SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy0:25:30: Testified the Biden administration finalized 12,000 rules costing almost $6 trillion0:25:58; said his office has flagged roughly 300 deregulation candidates0:27:12; cited the "One Big Beautiful Bill" zeroing out fuel-economy penalties as saving small businesses tens of billions0:27:37; said 65% of Biden-era major rules were certified as having no significant small-business impact despite at least $100 billion in unacknowledged costs0:29:52; later acknowledged tariffs are "a source of revenue" without directly confirming they are taxes0:40:59.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)0:35:29: Pressed Mulligan repeatedly on why his testimony didn't address tariffs as a cost driver for small businesses0:36:200:37:16; cited a Hawaii chipmaker paying more for Chinese-sourced parts0:40:06; asked directly whether tariffs are taxes, saying Mulligan had written so in his own book, and said she remained unsatisfied with his answer0:39:430:41:14.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)0:42:22: Said the recently enacted tax law will increase the deficit by $907 billion from 2025-2034 and raise the number of uninsured Americans by 10 million by 2034, per CBO estimates0:43:33; said 4.2 million will lose marketplace coverage as enhanced tax credits lapse, and small-business ACA premiums are rising an average 11% for 20260:43:52; cited a New Jersey flower-shop owner forgoing her own coverage to keep it for her children0:44:39; pressed Mulligan for a specific solution to rising health costs0:47:04.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)0:49:18: Cited Biden-era SBA data showing only 12,500 of 103,000 loans (12%) and $6 billion of $56 billion in capital went to rural businesses0:49:47; asked about SBA's 8(a) program and Kelly Loeffler's oversight of it0:52:07; raised the ATI Government Solutions case of alleged fraudulent Native American ownership claims to obtain 8(a) status and asked whether SBA needs an inspector general0:52:50.

Key moments

Ernst said EPA's proposed reversal of the Obama-era endangerment finding could save Americans $54 billion annually, after estimating it has justified over $1 trillion in hidden taxes0:21:53.

Mulligan said Georges Bank fishery closures under Biden-era modeling left 52 million scallops to die unharvested annually, which fishermen say contradicts the Magnuson-Stevens Act0:30:34.

Mulligan described a proposed OSHA heat rule that would require shade structures for an Arizona watermelon farm that harvests at night, when there's no sun0:28:54.

Hirono repeatedly asked whether tariffs are taxes, referencing Mulligan's own book; Mulligan responded only that tariffs are "a source of revenue" tied to Trump's campaign platform, prompting Hirono to say she was "frustrated" with his non-answer0:39:430:40:590:41:14.

Mulligan said his Senate confirmation was delayed by a government shutdown, and he wasn't called to the White House to discuss small-business tariff concerns until "last Wednesday," after the government reopened0:38:450:39:16.

Booker cited CBO figures that the tax law will add $907 billion to the deficit and 10 million uninsured Americans by 2034, with 4.2 million losing marketplace coverage as premium tax credit enhancements expire0:43:330:43:52.

Mulligan said his office's website lists 97 distinct health-care regulatory issues raised by small businesses, but Booker pressed him for a specific near-term solution and did not receive one beyond referencing the list0:45:240:47:230:48:18.

Mulligan named a "most wanted" list including the 2024 Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, quarterly payroll filings, and the 15-year-old ACA employer mandate as top costly regulations0:55:110:55:36.

Hawley cited reports that ATI Government Solutions improperly or fraudulently claimed Native American ownership to obtain 8(a) contracting status, and both he and Mulligan agreed SBA's inspector-general confirmation is taking too long0:52:500:53:14.

Ernst noted allowing ACA subsidies to continue does not itself lower underlying health-care costs, calling for bipartisan work on cost drivers beyond premiums0:48:45.

Metadata

CommitteeSenate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Chamber / CongressSenate · 119th Congress
Date2025-11-19
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videosenate-isvp
Transcript95 caption blocks · 5,640 words · 0:59:23 runtime
EventCongress.gov 337645