Republican hearing focuses on business complaints

By LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The business community is telling the government to get out of its hair. And Republicans, looking toward the 2012 elections, are listening.

The House's principal investigative panel, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is holding a hearing Thursday designed to give voice to business complaints about government regulations.

The entire House could vote this week to direct 10 committees to compile an inventory of rules that adversely affect jobs. The resolution has no practical effect because House committee chairmen already are under instructions from the Republican leadership to get rid of or modify rules that businesses don't like.

But the debate could provide Republicans with politically useful anti-regulation sound bites.