Overview

• Directs the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel for Advocacy to establish a 'Red Tape Hotline' for small businesses to report burdensome federal agency rules, guidance, and policies.
• Bill reported out of House Small Business Committee on November 21, 2025, and placed on Union Calendar for full House consideration.
• Amends existing law (15 U.S.C. 634c) to add new reporting and oversight requirements.

Who does this affect?

• Main groups: Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and small nonprofits navigating federal regulations across all industries.
• Who benefits: Small businesses gain a direct channel to flag costly or confusing regulations. Congress and agencies receive data on which rules create the most compliance problems.
• Teen impact score: 4/10 (indirect relevance through family businesses and future entrepreneurship, but no direct teen interaction with the hotline or regulatory compliance).

What This Bill Does

• Establishes 180-day deadline from enactment for the Chief Counsel to launch the hotline with email, phone, submission form, or other accessible reporting methods.
• Requires easily accessible website displaying all contact methods for submitting complaints about agency rules, guidance, policy statements, or other regulatory activities.
• Mandates annual reports to Congress and the SBA Administrator starting one year after enactment, identifying the most frequently complained-about rules and affected industry sectors.
• Reports must include: geographic and industry breakdown of complaints, identification of agencies issuing problematic rules, recommendations for reducing regulatory burdens, and summary of Chief Counsel actions taken (including comments or analysis submitted).
• Applies to all federal agencies as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551, covering rules and guidance affecting 'small entities' as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601 (small businesses, nonprofits, and governmental jurisdictions).

Legislative Status

• Introduced July 10, 2025, by Rep. Wied and referred to House Small Business Committee.
• Reported with amendments on November 21, 2025, and placed on Union Calendar No. 333 for House floor consideration.
• Has four cosponsors: Van Duyne, Schmidt, and Patronis added as of November 21, 2025.

In short

• Creates a hotline where small businesses can report federal regulations they find too costly or complicated to follow.
• The Small Business Administration must track complaints and tell Congress which rules cause the most problems.
• Annual reports will recommend ways agencies can reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses.
• Aims to give small business owners a voice in identifying regulations that hurt their operations.
• Does not eliminate any existing regulations—only creates a reporting and recommendation system.

Why should I care?

Small businesses employ nearly half of American workers, including many parents and family members of teens. When regulations become too expensive or confusing for small businesses to follow, they may cut jobs, raise prices, or close entirely. This bill creates a system for tracking which federal rules cause the most problems for small businesses across different industries and regions. The annual reports to Congress could influence future decisions about which regulations to keep, modify, or eliminate. For teens interested in starting businesses someday or working in family businesses, understanding how regulatory burdens affect small enterprises matters for future economic opportunities.