Cole: Regulations continue to hobble U.S. economy

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said on Monday that federal regulations have become a burden to job creators, job seekers and small businesses, and asked that the federal government be held accountable.

Cole said that the U.S. has more than $17 trillion of debt and the prospects of an economic recovery are hindered by an ever expanding list of regulations. According to Cole, President Barack Obama’s administration has increased the regulatory burden by nearly $70 billion.

The Office of Management and Budget reported that 2012 was the most expensive for regulatory costs to date because of the introduction and enforcement of many regulations with an annual impact of at least $100 million.

“The rate at which these costly regulations are introduced has become particularly alarming,” Cole said. “When split up by household, the annual regulatory cost amounts to $14,678 per family. For most families, the only thing more expensive than that are the funds set aside for housing costs.”

Cole said some of the responsibility for the regulatory burdens rests with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2010. The law was designed to increase compliance within the financial services industry, but Cole said it has instead created a new burden for job creators.

“Earlier this month, House Republicans acknowledged that federal agencies must be held accountable for the rules they choose to enforce,” Cole said. “In an effort to prevent unnecessary regulations that hurt individuals and job creators, we introduced and passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. This bill allows Congress to step in and use its constitutional lawmaking authority by requiring that Congress and the president both approve major regulations before enforcement.”