By Ireland Owens
The Biden-Harris administration has put in nearly $1.78 trillion worth of rules and regulations as of October since January 2021, with much of that being finalized in the last year, according to the American Action Forum (AAF).
Just since January, the federal government has produced $1.46 trillion in total net costs from various rules and regulations, with $1.33 trillion in new costs coming from finalized rules, according to the AAF. The total number of finalized regulations put in place this year is 327 as of Nov. 1.
President Joe Biden’s added regulatory costs are dramatically higher than those of former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, according to the AAF. In the same amount of time it took Biden to rack up the nearly $1.78 trillion in regulations, the Obama administration reached $490.5 billion in 2012, and the Trump administration hit $3 billion in 2020, according to the AAF.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent rule that aims to replace lead pipes in the U.S. within 10 years is expected to incur annual costs of $1.47 billion to $1.95 billion, according to the AAF. The EPA’s new strict tailpipe emissions regulations have also previously contributed to increasing the total costs of the administration’s regulatory agenda.
The Biden-Harris administration has led a push to increase regulatory action over the past year as election night draws closer. Biden has introduced various measures aimed at regulating the use of gas appliances, including issuing revised standards for furnaces in September 2023 that could prohibit 40-60% of residential gas furnaces and pushing for widespread usage of electric stoves.
The economy has been a top concern for voters in the 2024 election cycle, with 52% of voters saying they consider it to be the most important issue, according to an Oct. 9 Gallup poll. (RELATED: The Oil And Gas Industry Might Be What’s Keeping Biden’s Economy Humming On Paper Despite ‘Regulatory Assault’)
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.