TRUMP ORDERS REGULATIONS SLASHED

By Miriam Raftery

February 1, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Following through on his campaign promise to reduce government regulations, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that would require federal agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for every new rule that they introduce.

It also requires that costs of any new rules be completely offset by getting rid of existing rules for fiscal year 2017.  Thereafter, it imposes caps on costs for new regulations each year.

There are some exemptions. The order does not apply to rules mandated by laws passed by Congress, which would require Congressional action to undo.

Also exempted are independent agencies that created rules required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, though Trump has said he’ll work to have Congress reform Dodd-Frank, which he calls a “disaster” that he claims make it hard to start or expand small businesses.

Reuters dispute’s Trump’s assertion, noting that creation of new small businesses has actually climbed steadily since 2010, when Dodd-Frank was enacted.

In signing the order at the White House, Trump stated, “"There will be regulation, there will be control, but it will be normalized control.”

Military and national security regulations are exempted from the order. The Office of Management and Budget Director could waive the rule for other agencies in certain cases.

The action has drawn criticism from consumer groups, environmentalists, and healthcare reform advocates who contend it could harm the public and result in gutting of key protections for things like clean air and water, regulation of new drugs or other public safety measures.

But it has drawn praise from conservatives. GOP strategist Grover Norquist once stated his goal was to shrink government to the size where he could “drown it in a bathtub.”

Trump’s order just made it easier for his agency appointees to accomplish that objective, but much harder to adopt new regulations even if there is sound justification for doing so.