Still-MIA White House Report To Congress On Costs And Benefits Of Federal Regulation Is Latest Ever
Why is the 2015 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations so late? Wayne Crews examines the possibilities in his Forbes column:
In this, the “most transparent administration in history,” where is the White House Office of Management and Budget’s 2015 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations?
Sounds boring, and I confess it is. Yet this is the only official public report we have disclosing overall annual costs and benefits of federal regulations, and it has never been as late as it is now. Is there something to hide?
The chart nearby shows the month (and day of the month if available) during which the Draft Report to Congress has appeared since 2002. The report has appeared most frequently in March (that was six months ago), and typically by April at the latest. The September 21 appearance in 2009 was the latest ever.
Until now.
This matters because Congress may initiate a federal government shutdown over the spending of our taxes, yet the costs of regulation and federal intervention exceed the costs of the individual income tax and the corporate income tax combined. So there’s a priority and perspective issue, and Congress and the administration ignore regulation at considerable economic peril.