The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy estimates that it costs Americans $1.75 trillion to comply with federal regulations each year. To put $1.75 trillion into perspective, that amount is larger than all but eight economies in the world. It also means that over 10% of the U.S. economy is spent on trying to satisfy rules issued by Washington bureaucrats. That doesn't even include federal, state, and local taxes.
This heavy regulatory burden diverts resources from innovation to compliance, discourages business investment, and chills job creation. It is no accident that as Washington adds new regulations, more and more Americans are unemployed and underemployed.
From 2003 to 2010, agencies did not publish Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) for approximately 35% of rules with a cost of $100 million or more. This number has nearly doubled since 1998. NPRMs alert the public that the agency is considering a regulation, gives the public the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulation, and allows the agency to use public input to revise the regulation. GAO found that when agencies consider public input while drafting legislation, the regulations are often improved and cost less.
Elected leaders need to carefully consider the costs and negative unintended consequences of unnecessary federal regulations. They need to remember that real people must comply with these regulations and that making them overly burdensome stifles American growth.
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