Why Is Obama’s Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulation Delayed?

by Wayne Crews on April 1, 2014

In April 2013, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Draft 2013 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations, which covered rules and regs issued in fiscal year 2012. The final 2013 edition never appeared; now, the Draft 2014 edition is due. I’m not holding my breath.

President Obama claimed again as recently as February 2013 that “this is the most transparent administration in history.”

But getting this important document, as well as the oft-delayed Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, is like pulling teeth. Part of the recent House-passed ALERRT Act addressed the Agenda’s tardiness; it’s naturally stuck in the Senate. (The Agenda is an obscure but important document wherein federal departments and agencies reveal their priorities along with disclosing recently completed rules.)

The 2013 Draft Reportrevealed that costs of major rules jumped under Obama; The 14 rules added during the fiscal year ended September 2012 imposed costs of from $14.8 billion to $19.5 billion (that’s in the 2001 dollars OMB uses, which look better than 2012 dollars). …….To Read More….