The Obama administration is busy pushing out last-minute regulations, including releasing $7.4 billion worth of new rules in just one night.
Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the right-leaning American Action Forum (AAF), compiled a list of regulations published Wednesday night in the Federal Register.
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The administration released more than $7.4 billion in regulations last night. #midnight pic.twitter.com/EVthdChPd4
— Sam Batkins (@sambatkins) December 29, 2016
The Obama administration is making sure its last months in control of regulatory agencies are used to pump out as many rules as it can. These “midnight” regulations could end up costing more than $44 billion, though many are likely to be repealed by Congress and President-elect Donald Trump.
Federal agencies are on track to impose a record number of major regulations this year. The Obama administration is on track to impose 100 new regulations in December — twice the monthly average for 2016.
Many of these costly, last-minute regulations put new restrictions on drilling for oil and natural gas from the Department of the Interior. That agency and the EPA are scheduled to publish $5.1 billion worth of “midnight” regulations.
The Department of Energy also plans on releasing regulations before Trump takes office. The agency will impose new regulations for home efficiency standards and power supplies, the combined cost of which will be $10.1 billion.
Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation that would make it harder for federal agencies to impose major regulations and easier for them to be repealed en masse by Trump.
Regulatory experts have identified at least 150 regulations Trump could work with Congress to repeal once he takes office Jan. 21.
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