The Administration’s announcement yesterday to cut several regulations is a step in the right direction. The President and his team recognize that unnecessary burdens placed on the economy can hinder job creation and economic development. The challenge remains to apply these principles consistently across the government to new and proposed regulation.
The net benefits of these reforms, however, could be swallowed up by new, unnecessarily costly regulations that the Administration is considering – the most egregious of which is the reconsideration of the national standards for Ozone.
This is an entirely discretionary action on the part of the EPA that is under consideration. Neither the courts nor Congress can be blamed if the Obama Administration decides to impose a new regulation that imperils 7.3 million jobs and adds $1 trillion in new costs annually between 2020 and 2030. This and an assortment of other EPA rules currently proposed or under consideration can have a devastating impact on job creation and the economy.
Manufacturers hope that this announcement is just the first of many signs that the White House takes these principles seriously and will not impose discretionary or unnecessary regulatory burdens on the economy. To demonstrate their seriousness about regulatory review and job creation, the White House should follow up with another announcement returning the Ozone rule to EPA to defer reconsideration until the next mandated review period. It would be better to stop a bad regulation early than to have to engage in a “look back” to fix it after the economy feels its negative effects.
Rosario Palmieri is vice president for infrastructure, legal and regulatory policy.
Update:
Press coverage on yesterday’s announcement:
- NPR, “White House Rolls Back Regulations“
- Bloomberg, “Obama Outlines Regulations Overhall to Save Business About $10 Billion“
- Reuters, “White House: regulatory trim to save over $10 billion“
