Obama Already Added $16 Billion in Regulatory Costs This Year
Obama Already Added $16 Billion in Regulatory Costs This Year
(Washington, D.C.) – President Obama recently highlighted executive orders that he has signed and described as an effort to “eliminate red tape.” However, the administration’s own Retrospective Review of Regulation show that executive agencies added more than $16 billion in regulatory costs in the last year, up from $14.7 billion in the previous update. While the White House reports that the Department of Transportation did in fact reduce cost and paperwork hour burdens, it was not enough to offset the other 15 agencies who did the opposite, especially the Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Human Services agency.
Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:
“Once again, the president fails to grasp the massive scale of the regulatory costs facing our country. During his first six years in the White House, President Obama had already increased the annual cost of federal regulations by $80 billion. Now, as he continues to pile on new and costly orders, that even his own administration find dubious in effect, it is clear that his claims of eliminating red tape in small areas elsewhere are nothing more than window dressing.
Higher regulatory costs translates to less innovation, higher unemployment, more people pushed into part-time work, and less economic growth. Americans need to recognize the dangers of unchecked growth in regulations, and demand that our leaders in Washington address the problem of overspending and excessive regulatory costs in the country. Washington is bankrupting America – through runaway spending, excessive taxation, and unnecessary regulations that harm American workers.”
For Interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Josh Rivera, 202-763-4428
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