President Donald Trump and Congress have saved an additional $60 billion in regulatory costs by rolling back Obama administration rules, according to a new report.
The American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute, released a report Tuesday documenting the most recent ways the administration and Congress have used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations.
The report found the recent repeal and delay of regulations could lead to $86 billion in net fiscal effects for taxpayers from deregulation.
"Congress has already passed 13 CRA resolutions, repealing more than $1.1 billion (annually) in past regulations from the Obama Administration," the report, written by Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy for AAF, said. "In addition, President Trump has formally delayed and signaled an intention to amend several other major rules. Combined, these actions could generate more than $18 billion in annual regulatory savings for businesses, investors, and consumers."
Reversing the Obama administration's "Waters of the United States" rule, the sweeping Environmental Protection Agency move that would have subjected lakes and ponds to federal government regulation, could produce $16 million in taxpayer savings alone.
Rolling back just five regulations could save taxpayers billions. The report examined spending implications of regulations repealed through the Congressional Review Act and those delayed formally by the administration.
"Combined, five regulations would have cost more than $86 billion in federal funds," the report said. "Easily the largest rule was the Department of Education’s 'Accountability and State Plans' final measure, implementing the 'Every Student Succeeds Act.'"
The regulation, which was repealed by the CRA, would have added $73 million in costs and 930,000 hours of paperwork, as well as $86 billion in new spending.
"One regulation that will not likely return is the 'Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces' measure, which will impose $400 million in annual costs and more than 2.1 million paperwork hours," the report said. The Obama executive order would have required federal contractors to disclose any labor violations from the previous three years before being awarded a new contract.
"In addition to those burdens, regulators also estimated $15 million in year-one government costs and $10.1 million in year-two expenditures," the report said of the "Fair Pay" order. "A total of $25 million in total savings is hardly earthshattering, but in concert with the regulatory impact, it provides a notable increase in benefits."
The American Action Forum previously reported that President Trump halted $181 billion in regulatory costs on his first day in office, by signing an executive order that cuts two regulations for every new rule introduced.
Now, by working with Congress, the administration has removed further regulatory burdens in its first months in office.
"Regulatory reform has taken many shapes during the Trump Administration: CRA votes, increased flexibility in compliance, and formal reviews of major rules," the report concluded. "As AAF has documented, this has the ability to generate more than $60 billion in cost savings for American businesses, investors, and consumers."
"These benefits, through just the first few months of an administration, are profound, but the fiscal savings of regulatory reform should not be overlooked," the report added. "Broad reforms have the ability to generate billions of dollars in taxpayer savings, and millions of fewer paperwork hours."