Regulation nation: Obama issues nearly
50% more costly regs than Bush
BY PAUL BEDARD | DECEMBER 2, 2014
American industries are taking a beating from President Obama’s rules makers, getting socked with nearly 50 percent more “economically significant” regulations than under former President Bush — and Obama still has two more years to go.
According to a just-issued Office of Management and Budget report, Obama has issued 406 unusually costly regulations over his first six years, for an annual average of 68.
Bush, over a similar six-year period, 2003-2008, issued 277, for an average of 46 annually.
That means Obama has issued nearly 50 percent more of the rules dubbed “economically significant” by OMB.
According to an analysis by Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., policy director at Competitive Enterprise Institute, those rules account for the bulk of regulatory costs on industries. He quoted the OMB report saying that “the benefits and costs of major rules, which have the largest economic effects, account for the majority of the total benefits and costs of all rules subject to OMB review.”
Obama has bragged that he hasn’t issued as many rules as Bush and Crews said that is true. Bush issued 23,367 rules over his last six years to Obama’s 21,506 rules. Looked at another way, said Crews, Bush averaged 3,894 rules annually, while Obama’s 3,584 will rise probably just a little.
But, he added, “when it came to the really big rules and regulations (as far as we know, that is, given that actual reporting is pretty dismal, even non-existent), Obama was always ahead of Bush.”
He concluded that, “Total regulations do matter, but so do costs and the trends in costly rules. Such things matter even more when use of the pen and phone and ‘acting when Congress won’t’ has been promised.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.
50% more costly regs than Bush
BY PAUL BEDARD | DECEMBER 2, 2014
American industries are taking a beating from President Obama’s rules makers, getting socked with nearly 50 percent more “economically significant” regulations than under former President Bush — and Obama still has two more years to go.
According to a just-issued Office of Management and Budget report, Obama has issued 406 unusually costly regulations over his first six years, for an annual average of 68.
Bush, over a similar six-year period, 2003-2008, issued 277, for an average of 46 annually.
That means Obama has issued nearly 50 percent more of the rules dubbed “economically significant” by OMB.
According to an analysis by Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., policy director at Competitive Enterprise Institute, those rules account for the bulk of regulatory costs on industries. He quoted the OMB report saying that “the benefits and costs of major rules, which have the largest economic effects, account for the majority of the total benefits and costs of all rules subject to OMB review.”
Obama has bragged that he hasn’t issued as many rules as Bush and Crews said that is true. Bush issued 23,367 rules over his last six years to Obama’s 21,506 rules. Looked at another way, said Crews, Bush averaged 3,894 rules annually, while Obama’s 3,584 will rise probably just a little.
But, he added, “when it came to the really big rules and regulations (as far as we know, that is, given that actual reporting is pretty dismal, even non-existent), Obama was always ahead of Bush.”
He concluded that, “Total regulations do matter, but so do costs and the trends in costly rules. Such things matter even more when use of the pen and phone and ‘acting when Congress won’t’ has been promised.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment