Ombudsman and Regulatory Fairness Boards
Program Objective
To assure equity and fairness in federal regulation of small business by receiving comments from small businesses, small non-profit organizations or small government entities (representing less than 50,000 people) regarding regulatory compliance and enforcement involving Federal Agencies or Agency employees; to ease undue compliance burdens for small business by: (a) facilitating independent, high-level Agency reviews of compliance or enforcement activities against small businesses and (b) promoting access to compliance assistance resources available from Federal Agencies.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
- Small Business Person
Small businesses, small nonprofit organizations or small government entities (representing less than 50,000 people).
Beneficiaries
- Small Business Person
The Ombudsman's actions assist those who individually seek assistance as well as other similarly-situated small entities.
Program details & compliance
Description
To assure equity and fairness in federal regulation of small business by receiving comments from small businesses, small non-profit organizations or small government entities (representing less than 50,000 people) regarding regulatory compliance and enforcement involving Federal Agencies or Agency employees; to ease undue compliance burdens for small business by: (a) facilitating independent, high-level Agency reviews of compliance or enforcement activities against small businesses and (b) promoting access to compliance assistance resources available from Federal Agencies.
Mission Categories
Primary: Small Business
Use of Funds
Allowed Uses
Comments received by the Office of the National Ombudsman are confidential and when authorized by the commenter, they are forwarded to the appropriate senior level Federal Agency Personnel to obtain a timely review and response to an excessive and/or unfair Federal regulatory issue. Public Regulatory Fairness Hearings and other outreach events are held throughout the U.S. to receive testimony and commentary from small entities about unfair and/or excessive Federal regulatory enforcement actions and burdensome regulations. Cases are filed online, by fax, mail or personal delivery.
Reporting & Compliance
Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts
- Subpart F — Audit Requirements