ou probably remember this line from President Obama’s State of the Union this January: “There’s no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly. In fact, I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.”
This is, in fact, true. But as a new Heritage Foundation report on federal regulation shows, it is also highly misleading.
First, the true part of Obama’s statement: 10,215 regulations were issued in the first three years of the Obama administration. This is slightly less than the 10,674 issued during the first three years of the Bush administration.
But just counting the number of regulations does not tell you anything about the burden those regulations place on the economy. Not all regulations are created equal. A new rule mandating how the Federal Election Commission must hold public meetings has no impact in the U.S. economy. Regulating emissions from power plants does. And when we look at the regulatory burden the federal government has placed on the U.S. economy over the past three years, the Obama administration is the all-time leader.
In just his first three years in office, Obama has approved 106 new major federal regulations at a cost of $46 billion to the U.S. economy. By contrast, in his first three years Bush approved only 28 new major regulations at a cost of just $8.1 billion.
And as bad as Obama’s regulatory record already is, he is also looking to run up the score. Of the 2,576 pending rulemakings identified in the fall of 2011, 133 will be “economically significant.” With an estimated expected cost of at least $100 million each, we can expect Obama will add, at minimum, another $13.3 billion in regulatory burdens to the U.S. economy this year.
Campaign 2012
Romney: Romney spent two days fundraising in New York this week, taking in about $3 million. Top aide Eric Fehrnstrom says Romney still has “no plans” to dip into his personal fortune to pay for his campaign.
Santorum: Rick Santorum clarified his position on the official language of Puerto Rico yesterday, insisting that he never meant to say the island had to adopt English as the official language before it could obtain statehood. Santorum said he only meant English should be the “preferred” language.
Obama: In The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove details numbers showing that Obama’s fundraising and enthusiasm are far below their 2008 totals.
Around the Bigs
The Washington Examiner, Health care reforms could cost 20 million work coverage: As many as 20 million Americans could lose the health insurance they now receive from their employers under President Obama’s new health care reforms, a report from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation released Thursday shows.
The Hill, Obama shifts healthcare defense: The Obama administration has shifted its legal defense of Obamacare’s individual mandate from the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to the Necessary and Proper Clause, which says Congress can make laws that are necessary for carrying out its other powers.
The Washington Examiner, New GOP Medicare plan cuts $1 trillion in 10 years: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation yesterday that would end Medicare’s remaining fee-for-service programs, enroll current recipients into the federal employee health plan, and cut $1 trillion in spending over 10 years.
Righty Playbook
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan released a video preview of the budget he will release next week.
The Heritage Foundation investigates claims that the IRS is persecuting Tea Party groups over their non-profit status.
AEI‘s James Pethokoukis shows how the weak Obama recovery will cost us $4 trillion in debt.
Lefty Playbook
The Huffington Post reports that gay activists are fighting to put same-sex marriage into the Democratic Party platform this year.
Talking Points Memo‘s Benjy Sarlin details how Obama mangled U.S. and world history in his energy speech yesterday
The New Republic‘s Jonathon Cohn defends Obamacare from claims its cost has doubled since it passed in 2010.
