Our advocacy services are aimed at helping businesses and their trade associations obtain regulatory relief from federal laws, regulations and rules. Our advocacy services are aimed at federal agencies only.
Our advocacy services have two components: non-adversarial e-advocacy and adversarial advocacy. Both components are based on leveraging the significant power that two federal laws provide small and medium size businesses to demand that agencies exempt them from burdensome laws, regulations and rules. These two laws are the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
Non-adversarial e-advocacy
Until now, advocacy has been the realm of big business, expensive lobbyists, big money, campaign contributions and the likes. Smaller businesses, with limited resources or ability to unite, could not play this game, and thus have always been invisible to Washington DC. No more. At its core, e-advocacy involves leveraging the power of the internet to allow large numbers of small/mid-sized business owners to cost & time effectively owners to cost & time effectively communicate with senior agency officials, educate these officals as to the problem, propose concrete regulatory solutions, and make sure that relief is given.
Our e-advocacy solutions include some or all of the following cost-conscious components: simplified tools such as email campaigns directed at decision makers, community/alliance-building, crowd-funding, media-exposure, social media.
Adversarial advocacy
The RFA and PRA are two federal statutes that set forth detailed procedural safeguards that all federal agencies must follow when issuing federal regulations or rules. At their core, these two laws require agencies to minimize the burden which federal laws and regulations/rules have on small/mid-sized businesses. In order to comply with these laws, the federal agencies must conduct and publish extensive analysis before issuing proposed and/or final regulations. This analysis must include alternatives to the law/rule suitable for small businesses, including out-right exemptions from the underlying law, regulation or rule, for small/mid-sized businesses. Failure of an agency to comply with the RFA and PRA provides any business owner the right to file suit to enforce the terms of these laws. And the lawsuit is simple and cost-effective, involving a simple procedural challenge to the validity of the regulations. We know. On a limited budget, we have filed two such lawsuits challenging Treasury regulations two major tax regimes created under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.
Fees and Compensation
We are business people who pay and receive compensation for value. However, as stated in our Mission & Business Principles section, we strongly believe in showing some initial value before compensation or terms of engagement are discussed.