EXCLUSIVE: Biden Is Imposing The Costliest Regulatory Agenda In US History, Report Finds

EXCLUSIVE: Biden Is Imposing The Costliest Regulatory Agenda In US History, Report Finds

Mary Lou Masters on July 12, 2023

• President Joe Biden has added over $300 billion in new regulatory costs in his administration’s first two years, topping the spending of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, according to research exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
• The Foundation for Government Accountability’s (FGA) research outlined 12 of what they view as the Biden administration’s “worst, most expensive regulations,” including those related to health care, climate change and more.
• “The Biden administration has published more than 80,000 pages of regulations, and his 12 worst rules — Biden’s Dirty Dozen — are fueling inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, discouraging work, and tanking the economy,” research author and FGA senior fellow Michael Greibrok told the DCNF.

President Joe Biden’s administration has racked up more regulatory costs during his first two years than any other president in modern history, according to research shared exclusively with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Biden has added more than $300 billion in new regulatory costs, topping former President Barack Obama’s $215 billion and dwarfing former President Donald Trump’s $23 billion during their first two years in office, research from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) indicates. The FGA’s research unveiled “Biden’s Dirty Dozen” — what the group characterizes as the administration’s “worst, most expensive regulations” — including those related to health care, climate initiatives and more.

“The architects of Bidenomics are the bureaucrats pumping out more than 200 pages of job-killing regulations every single day,” research author and FGA senior fellow Michael Greibrok told the DCNF. “Small businesses, employees, and families are already trying to navigate higher prices. Now, they’re forced to fight through a historic amount of red tape to keep their heads above water.”

Biden’s spike in regulations is estimated to have added roughly 220 million hours of paperwork, while Trump’s administration cut the task by 6 million hours over the same time span, according to the research. The FGA is advocating to mandate congressional approval of such regulations, as opposed to edicts being handed down directly from executive branch agencies.

The Biden administration is “weakening Medicaid program integrity” by limiting states’ ability to check eligibility, resulting in a 2023 spike in enrollees, according to the research. The president extended the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency nine times, during which states received additional Medicaid funding if they pledged not to remove ineligible enrollees, costing taxpayers $18 billion each month. The president also pushed for expanding eligibility for Obamacare subsidies, which the research asserts is illegal and would cost taxpayers $45 billion.

The president signed off on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) increasing food stamp benefits by 27%, which could cost taxpayers nearly $250 billion over the next ten years, according to the research. The FGA alleges the Biden administration also “unlawfully increased ’emergency allotments’” for food stamp recipients who maxed out on benefits.

Biden’s student loan giveaway — which would have canceled up to $10,000 in debt for non-Pell Grant recipients and $20,000 for Pell recipients via the 2003 HEROES Act — could have cost taxpayers over $500 billion, according to the research. Following the Supreme Court’s blocking of Biden’s plan in late June, the administration proposed an income-driven repayment plan to ease student debt, which the research indicates would cost taxpayers $471 billion.

“Many people think the Supreme Court ended the student loan bailout problem, but the Biden administration is already pushing another end-run around Congress with a separate rule that could cost taxpayers more than $470 billion over ten years,” said Greibrok. “Government should not be a game of regulatory whack-a-mole. Congress must reassert its authority to write laws and hold the power of the purse. Only then will we have the consistency and predictability necessary for our economy to flourish again.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing “climate risk” disclosures be provided with a company’s registration or report, which would cost over “$10 billion and 43 million internal hours to complete the requirements,” according to the research. The Biden administration is also evaluating the “environmental justice” impact when considering construction of natural gas pipelines.

Biden has prioritized his climate agenda from the beginning of his presidency, suspending oil and gas lease sales within the first week, and has continued to do so while gas prices have skyrocketed, according to the research. The Biden administration has also been pushing environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into the assessment of retirement funds.

The FGA also argued Biden has displayed overreach in elections via a 2021 executive order “transforming federal agencies into voter registration and ‘outreach’ hubs.” The administration also made it more difficult for independent contractors to work freely by amending classifications for freelance work, according to the research.

The research highlighted Florida’s ability to cut red tape, and argued Congress should look at the Sunshine State as an example by approving regulations with an annual cost of over $100 million before implementation. The FGA advocated for legislation authored by Florida GOP Rep. Kat Cammack, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which would “provide much needed relief to taxpayers and entrepreneurs.”

“The Biden administration has published more than 80,000 pages of regulations, and his 12 worst rules — Biden’s Dirty Dozen — are fueling inflation, skyrocketing energy costs, discouraging work, and tanking the economy,” said Greibrok.

The White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.