Report: 21,000 regulations so far under Obama, 2,375 set for 2015

1/1/2015

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(Federal Register)

The pace of agencies issuing new rules and regulations has hit a record high under President Obama, whose administration’s rules have filled 468,500 pages in the Federal Register.

And, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the president is poised to unleash another 2,375 new rules on American businesses without first giving Congress an up or down vote.

CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews, vice president for policy, told Secrets Wednesday that of the top six biggest Federal Register page tallies since 2002, the Obama administration owns five. This year, he said, the Federal Register ended up printing 79,066 pages — 78,978 when blank pages are removed.

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The Federal Register is a daily publication of federal issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies.

Crews, in a new report provided to Secrets, said that this year’s total for final rules and regulations spelled out in the Federal Register was 3,541. Of the 3,541 final rules, 659 are expected to have an impact on small businesses.

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He said that yearly rules issued by the administration average 3,500, putting the Obama administration’s total at around 21,000.

Crews put the incoming Congress on notice about Obama’s pending 2,375 proposed rules were issued in 2014 and are under consideration. He pointed out a report that said the administration isn’t supplying the required reports on new rules and said that Congress should take action to demand them.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.

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