Regulators published $111.2 billion in total costs with $5.7 billion in annual burdens, compared to $71.9 billion in benefits,” writes Dan Goldbeck, a policy analyst at the right-leaning American Action Forum (AAF).
“The main drivers of regulatory burdens included a proposed rule on ‘Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications’ and an Affordable Care Act final rule on home health agencies,” Goldbeck reported.
The Department of Transportation “Vehicle-to-Vehicle” rule is the biggest driver of regulatory costs in the last week. That rule alone is expected to cost automakers $109 billion, or about $5 billion a year.
And it’s only the second-most expensive regulation ever published since 2005.
Last-minute Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations also added to the burden. EPA published a rule on “Risk Management Programs” that costs the economy $131.8 million in every year.
“The per capita regulatory burden for 2017 is $381,” Goldbeck noted.
The Obama administration published $123.5 billion worth of new regulations in 2016, according to AAF, and the administration only ramped up its pushing out of last-minute, or “midnight,” regulations to make it as hard as possible for the incoming Trump administration to rollback rules.
President-elect Donald Trump is three days away entering the White House. Trump’s promise to issue a slew of executive orders his first day to reverse Obama’s policies on immigration and energy.
