What’s Really Doable In Trump’s First 100 Days?

Investor's Business Daily discusses rolling back regulation of the Obama administration with Wayne Crews. 

In the past eight years, Obama has imposed a record number of regulations, imposing costs on the economy. Many economists say regulation is one of the main things holding the U.S. economy back. As Obama leaves office, he's determined to impose a series of "midnight regulations" to achieve his unmet goals. Just since the election, he imposed 527 new rules in one day — the most ever.

"No one knows what the future holds, but at a pace of well over 1,000 pages weekly, the Federal Register could easily top 90,0000 pages this year," said the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Clyde Wayne Crews, who heads an annual study on regulations. As of last year, there were an estimated 78,000 regulatory pages.

Thanks to the Congressional Review Act, Congress can repeal almost any rule that has been enacted within 60 days, so a good deal of Obama's last-minute rule-making can be undone. But other parts of Obama's regulatory regime will be harder to get rid of, requiring legislation and likely lots of compromises with Democrats and moderate Republicans. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, the nearly 80,000-page rule registry won't be repealed in 100 days.

Likely first targets: Dodd-Frank, especially the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the EPA rule that aims to cut emissions from power plants by nearly a third by 2030. Plus, Trump will OK the Keystone pipeline, and open up energy-rich U.S. lands for exploration and development.

Read the full article at Investor's Business Daily.