10.06.15

Obama’s Regulatory Blitz: ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’

51 Regulations Are Promulgated By Bureaucrats For Every Law Passed

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): ‘The costs of these regulations are real’ “In the final 15 months of the Obama administration, Washington bureaucrats are working overtime, to finalize new rules on everything from prairie puddles to power plants.  … In this administration’s race to control more of what Americans do every day, it has lost all perspective. The rules are based on ideology, rather than practicality. The result is an explosion of expensive regulations and new federal requirements on hardworking families. … The costs of these regulations are real.” (Sen. Barrasso, Weekly Republican Address, 10/3/15)

‘51 Rules For Every Law In 2013’

“There were 51 rules for every law in 2013. ... Specifically, 72 laws were passed in calendar year 2013, whereas 3,659 rules were issued. This disparity highlights the excessive delegation of lawmaking power to unelected agency officials.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

“The Federal Register finished 2013 at 79,311 pages, the fourth highest level in history.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

 

Real World Impact: ‘A Flurry Of [Regulations] Are Taking Down The Coal Industry’

“Not every rule needs to be a big deal. A flurry of them are taking down the coal industry.” (“Obama’s Ozone Lesson,” Politico, 10/15)

  • “…to focus too intensely on any one of those rules is to miss the dramatic effect of the overall flurry. Over the last six-plus years, in addition to the relatively modest restrictions on ozone, ash, and arguably carbon, the Obama administration has issued much tougher regulations limiting soot, sulfur dioxide, and mercury emissions from coal plants. … When you put them all together, Obama’s new rules are absolutely changing the trajectory of the power industry. He has been an ally in the war on coal …” (“Obama’s Ozone Lesson,” Politico, 10/15)
  • “Richard Alonso, an environmental lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani who represents industry … ‘It’s death by a thousand cuts,’ Alonso said. ‘It’s another nail in the coffin.’” (“Obama’s Ozone Lesson,” Politico, 10/15)

In Kentucky: 20,000+ Impacted By Democrats' War On Coal Families

“…in coal country, the changes have meant layoffs. Nowhere has been hit harder than eastern Kentucky, where more than 6,000 miners have lost their jobs since January 2012. For each mining job, there are estimated to be at least three directly related jobs, like trucking, that also disappear.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

  • “According to [Bill] Bissett, [the president of the Kentucky Coal Association] the coal industry has lost more than 6,000 direct jobs, and 18,000 people indirectly connected to the coal industry are out of work. Coal production in Eastern Kentucky is down 30 percent...” (Commonwealth Journal [KY], 1/7/14)

PHILLIP CONLEY, Coal Miner: “I just believe the Obama administration has taken a huge impact on the coal industry and Appalachia. Anymore, you just never know from day to day if you are going to have a job or not.” (Fox News, 1/16/14)

The Regulatory Tax: $1.92 Trillion In Annual Costs

“The estimated cost of regulation exceeds half the level of the federal budget itself. Regulatory costs of $1.863 trillion amount to 11.1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which was estimated at $16.797 trillion in 2013 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

  • “The Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., jointly estimate that agencies spent $57.3 billion (on budget) to administer and police the federal regulatory enterprise. Adding the $1.863 trillion in offbudget compliance costs brings the total regulatory enterprise to $1.92 trillion.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

“The regulatory ‘hidden tax’ surpasses the income tax. Regulatory compliance costs exceed the 2013 estimated total individual income tax revenues of $1.234 trillion.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

  • “U.S. households ‘pay’ $14,974 annually in regulatory hidden tax, thereby ‘absorbing’ 23 percent of the average income of $65,596, and ‘pay’ 29 percent of the expenditure budget of $51,442. The ‘tax’ exceeds every item in the budget except housing. More is ‘spent’ on embedded regulation than on health care, food, transportation, entertainment, apparel and services, and savings.” (“Ten Thousand Commandments,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, P.2, 2014)

Dem Sen: ‘Our Urgent Mission To Rein In … Bureaucratic Agencies Is A Critical Priority’

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): ‘Our urgent mission to rein in the EPA and other bureaucratic agencies is a critical priority’ “The announcement by American Electric Power that it will shut down three plants in West Virginia and lay off 242 workers because of onerous regulations proves once again that our urgent mission to rein in the EPA and other bureaucratic agencies is a critical priority. As I have long said: Elected officials should be the people who are responsible for making major decisions that affect our economy, not bureaucrats who are unaccountable to any constituents and have never created jobs.” (Sen. Manchin, “Manchin Supports Commonsense Law Reining In EPA and Federal Bureaucrats,” Press Release, 6/9/11)

GALLUP: ‘Half (49%) [of Americans] say there is too much regulation’ “Less than one quarter of Americans (22%) say there is too little government regulation of business and industry, while about half (49%) say there is too much regulation. … These attitudes have been consistent over the past five years.” (“Few Americans Want More Gov't Regulation Of Business,” Gallup, 9/15/14)

 

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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: Coal, Taxes, Regulations