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East Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran presses bipartisan legislation to protect small businesses, strengthen border security
In an interview with CBS19, East Texas Congressman Nathaniel Moran touched on his work at Capitol Hill and his hopes for the next presidential administration
CBS19
December 13, 2024
By Jude Ratcliff, Brennon Gurley

East Texas's Congressman Nathaniel Moran has been in Washington, D.C passing key legislation that impacts both our community and the nation.

While on capitol hill, Moran has been shaping national conversation on both border security concerns and strengthening protections for small businesses. The Prove It Act of 2024, a legislation Moran introduced in the House, passed in a bipartisan vote of 208 to 196.

"There's this thing called the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 that requires the federal government, every time it puts a rule in place, to identify whether or not there's a significant economic impact on small businesses, and if there is, and they've got to come up with some alternative to these regulations for the small businesses," Moran said in an interview with CBS19. "Well, the problem is, since that time, about 75% of the time the federal government does not adhere to that statute, does not follow that statute, doesn't assign a number this economic impact, or just puts a de minimis number in place there, and there's no recourse for the small business owner. This bill, the Prove it Act, gives recourse to the small business owner to come back and say, look, if you do not follow that process, we're going to challenge it with the Office of the Chief Counsel the Small Business Administration."

Moran said his bill was born out of concern for small business owners. He said overly burdensome regulatory schemes squeeze out small business, something this bill intends to combat.

"Small businesses are the foundation and the generation of innovation and our industry and our economic growth in the United States," Moran said.

He adds, "The federal government, through their overly burdensome regulatory schemes, is killing small business owners, and we want to step in the gap and be on their side."

The Prove It Act, Moran says, will slow down the process of federal government introducing new regulation, introducing new checks to the executive branch to protect small business.

"If Congress thinks something is important to to pass, then it needs to write that law and pass that law," Moran said. "But we don't want to see the executive branch become the legislative branch and simply impose its will through regulatory actions."

The congressman said his work doesn't stop there when it comes to fighting for small businesses and entrepreneurs. His next step is to urge congress to act on upcoming expiration deadlines from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions from 2017.

"If we do not do something in this next Congress into 2025, by 2026, small businesses and families in particular going to see the largest tax hike in American history," Moran said. "I do not think that's an acceptable result, and so we must extend we've got to find a way to extend those Trump tax cuts from 2017 and provide additional regulatory relief and tax relief for families and businesses."

Moran's legislative efforts extend beyond small business protections, broaching into key issues such as border security and national defense. He highlighted the importance of House Resolution 957, a bill he helped introduce and pass in the House which condemns the Biden administration's border policies and emphasizes the need for stricter border security measures. He sees this resolution as a critical step towards addressing the challenges posed by the current administration's approach.

"We were proud to be able to be at the forefront of that, to call out President Biden's failures, to make a distinction between what President Trump had done successfully on the border and his first administration, and what President Biden had not done in his administration," Moran said. "And so we were proud to be able to bring that to light and to make that known, and to get Democrats to vote for that bill."

Moran described the future Trump Administration's approach to border security as a prospective "180 degree change" to the status quo. The congressman hopes to see provisions such as tighter parole and asylum provisions codified to prevent them from being undone by future administrations.

"We expect those policies will be returned in the second term," Moran said. "That includes remains in Mexico. That includes shutting down the asylum use, the way it is now, and the embassy use, the parole use, the way it is. Now we anticipate he's going to narrow those definitions, narrow the application, so that is back to its proper uses, not its improper broad uses, like President Biden is engaged in."

You can read the full story from CBS19 here.