Staff Reports
In a recent analysis, it was found that President Biden’s far-reaching climate and equity mandates are driving up the costs for the U.S. economy with federal regulations that are clocking in at over $1.9 trillion a year. This eye-popping figure was revealed in a new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which highlighted how the plethora of rules has spiraled out of control under the current administration.
Biden's battle on climate and social programs escalates red tape https://t.co/0Gb5DJtq1i
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 29, 2023
Author Clyde Wayne Crews didn’t hold back in his scathing assessment of Biden’s policies, pointing out how they are putting the squeeze on businesses and real job creation. “Biden’s economic and social interventions increase the costs of doing business and of creating real, as opposed to government and unionized, contractor jobs. The common denominator of all is the expansion of the spending and regulatory state,” he stated in the report, aptly named “Ten Thousand Commandments.”
The staggering $1.939 trillion annual regulatory burden makes up a whopping 7.4% of the U.S. gross domestic product, with Washington’s share of the economy totaling 31.4% when factoring in regulatory costs and annual federal spending. If U.S. regulation were a country, it would rank as the world’s ninth-largest economy! It’s staggering to realize that U.S. regulation surpasses Canada and even edges out South Korea in economic scale.
While the Biden administration has made efforts to tighten the reins on regulations, the report revealed that the 3,168 final rules imposed in 2022 still represented a nearly 29% drop from the first year of Biden’s tenure. However, this number remains higher than the low mark under former President Trump, making it clear that the trend under Biden is tilting towards overregulation.
The report didn’t mince words in calling out the Biden administration’s rapid acceleration of red tape, which it claimed was fueled by massive crisis legislation costing trillions of dollars. The American Rescue Plan, bipartisan infrastructure package, and the Inflation Reduction Act were cited as examples of “climate investments” that have amplified the regulatory burden.
Amid the administration’s climate agenda, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department have been spearheading new rules on emissions and fossil fuel operations, with an eye on completion before a potential Republican president and Congress could overturn them in 2025. The report also critiqued the administration’s tendency to forge ahead with executive branch rulemaking without congressional input, resulting in costly hidden taxes imposed without proper legislation.
In response to the mounting criticism, the White House doubled down on its climate agenda, citing the urgent need to address the rising economic toll from climate-related disasters. However, the CEI report stood firm in its call for substantial reforms to rein in the regulatory excess, including proposals for congressional approval of significant agency rules and the creation of an “Office of No” to push back against proposed and existing regulations.
The battle lines are drawn, and the debate over federal regulations is heating up. With the economic stakes running high, it remains to be seen how the Biden administration will navigate the pushback from critics who argue that the regulatory burden needs to be reined in to unleash the true potential of the American economy.
