Advocacy Group: New EPA Rules Push Regulatory Costs Past $1T

With its latest round of $29 billion in standards placed on heavy-duty trucks, the Environmental Protection Agency pushed the total costs of regulation in the U.S. past $1 trillion since 2005, according to the advocacy group American Action Forum.

That comes out to $3K – or $540 annually – for every man, woman and child in the country, according to AAF's report.

"This should serve as a sobering reminder of the scale of regulatory burdens imposed during the last decade," AAF wrote.


And the EPA is responsible for most of that $1 trillion, issuing the five most expensive rules annually ($42B) and six of the top eight in terms of total costs, according to AAF.

The total data since 2005, according to AAF's Regulation Rodeo:

• 4,432 regulations finalized.

• $1T total cost.

• 754,208,700 in paperwork hours.

"That's roughly the population of Anaheim, California devoted solely to federal paperwork," according to AAF. 


In 2016 alone, 338 regulations were finalized to the tune of $153 billion.

During President Obama's tenure, more than 3,400 regulations were finalized resulting in $962 billion in regulatory costs.

"The total of $1 trillion is probably more impressive considering AAF has recorded 167 rules that have reduced regulatory burdens," AAF wrote. "Combined, these deregulatory measures have estimated a reduction of more than $25 billion in total costs and $13 billion in annual rescissions. Yet, despite those efforts, the pace of regulation continues to increase the nation's regulatory tab
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