Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2017) – The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) applauds Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota) for introducing The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) of 2017.

The RAA amends the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to increase accountability and transparency in the federal regulatory process and codifies the bipartisan regulatory process established under Executive Order 12,866. This bill will also make sure federal agencies balance regulatory costs and benefits when developing new rules or changing existing regulations, and it provides stakeholders more opportunity to get involved earlier in the regulatory process.

NAWG President David Schemm made the following statement:

“Wheat producers continue to face an ever-tightening maze of regulations which can be taxing and difficult to navigate. Overzealous regulations can place unnecessary burdens on farmers and hinder their ability to carry out the day-to-day operations, which can marginalize their profits and become costly for taxpayers.

“NAWG welcomes The RAA which creates a better regulatory framework and process from the get go, so we won’t have to keep facing increased regulatory burdens that don’t show substantial benefits. Wheat growers want to ensure a safe, affordable and abundant food supply for all our customers and a safe working environment for ourselves, families and employees, but if we are faced with complicated regulations that add to our cost of production, it becomes more difficult to maintain a viable farming operation, especially with low commodity prices. We thank Congress for continuing to address regulatory issues impacting agriculture and Senators Portman and Heitkamp for introducing this bi-partisan bill.”