President Downgrade told Speaker Boehner in a letter today, that the Obama administration is considering seven regulations that would add more than $1 billion to the federal deficit. However, Obama said these are “merely proposed” regulations.
The Washington Times reported:
President Obama told Speaker John A. Boehner in a letter Tuesday that his administration is considering seven regulations that would each cost the U.S. economy more than $1 billion per year, although he added that these rules are “merely proposed.”
All told, the seven proposed rules cited by Mr. Obama would cost companies at least $38 billion per year and could cost as much as $100 billion annually.
“Before finalizing any of them, we will take account of public comments and concerns and give careful consideration to cost-saving possibilities and alternatives,” Mr. Obama wrote to the Ohio Republican.
Mr. Boehner wrote to the president last Friday, asking for an accounting of proposed rules that would cost more than $1 billion annually. “The economy cannot withstand the barrage of major new federal regulations planned by the administration,” Mr. Boehner said.
When they return to work in Washington next week, House Republicans plan to focus on cutting government red tape as a way to promote job creation.
The president listed four proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules and three in the Department of Transportation as having the high potential cost. An EPA regulation on air quality standards could cost between $19 billion and $90 billion per year.
The administration has been sparring with industry and congressional Republicans over cutting government regulations for most of Mr. Obama’s presidency. In his letter, Mr. Obama argued that his administration has already cut red tape that will save more than $10 billion over the next five years.
The president also said the cost of “final, economically significant rules” were higher in the final two years of the administration of Republican George W. Bush than in the first two years of Mr. Obama’s administration. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has questioned the administration’s tally.
