Study: Obama Regulations Have Cost U.S. $747 Billion

Alissa Lopez | August 9, 2016
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The American Action Forum (AAF) published a study Sunday revealing that President Obama has implemented 618 major regulations during his 7.5 years in the White House -- 40 percent more than President Bush passed in his two full terms.

But that isn’t what is most shocking about this report.

President Obama’s major regulations are estimated to have imposed a $747 billion dollar burden on America’s economy (updated to reflect today's data), and have cost each taxpayer approximately $2,294. The paperwork associated with these regulations reportedly took more than 232 million hours to complete.

More from the official report:

Through the final July of his term, President Obama has issued 600 major rules. Compare this to President Bush at 426 major rules; President Obama has already imposed 40 percent more major regulations than his predecessor, in spite of President Bush’s regulatory response to 9/11 and implementing Sarbanes-Oxley rules.

An average of 81 major regulations have been issued annually, with 40 having been issued so far in 2016. If President Obama maintains this same pace, AAF projects he could easily impose well over 650 regulations by the time the next president is sworn in next January.

If that were to happen, Batkins claims that the regulatory cost could jump up to $813 billion.

The pending policy agenda includes Greenhouse Gas Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks which is expected to cost $31 billion, and the $13.3 billion Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subject.

Batkins outlined the negative outcomes of such pricey regulations, stating, “Employees could pay through reduced wages or unemployment. Shareholders could pay through lower returns. Eventually consumers could bear this burden in the form of higher prices.”

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