Federal regulations cost economy $1.9T in 2015, controversial study claims

The Hill discusses with Wayne Crews his annual report on the size and costs of federal regulations. 

The cost of federal regulations is approaching $2 trillion a year, according to a controversial report released Wednesday.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) ninth annual Ten Thousand Commandments report claims the federal government issued 80,260 pages of rules in 2015, including 76 major rules that each cost the economy more than $100 million.

“The federal government has become very savvy in hiding costs by expanding their reach beyond taxes into regulations,” CEI Vice President Wayne Crews, who authored the report, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, regulatory costs get little attention in policy debates, because unlike taxes, they are difficult to quantify because they are unbudgeted and often indirect,” he added. "But the impacts of burdensome regulations are very real and increase costs for consumers and businesses, limiting productivity and a thriving free market.”

Read the full article at The Hill.