Regulations issued during the first two years of the Biden administration cost the economy an estimated $309 billion, which is 50% more expensive than the first two years of the Obama administration and nearly eight times as expensive as rules released in all four years of the Trump administration.
Biden's regulatory cost reflects the 443 final rules issued through late October 2022, which required roughly 193,000,000 hours of compliance paperwork across the nation, according to federal data collected by the American Action Forum.
At the same point in time under the Obama administration, 639 final rules had been issued that cost the economy $204 billion and required 80,000,000 hours of paperwork, less than half the time required under Biden.
The Trump administration released 500 final rules in its first two years that saved the economy an estimated $3.4 million, and took up just 500,000 hours of compliance time, the American Action Forum said.
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Dan Bosch, director of regulatory policy at the American Action Forum, said there is no reason to believe the Biden administration will reduce the pace of regulatory costs the next two years.
"I expected the Biden administration to rival the Obama administration in terms of regulatory costs, but so far they have exceeded those expectations," Bosch told Fox News Digital. "The current administration’s commitment to addressing climate change through regulations — rather than new legislation from Congress — means that we should expect to see these costs continue to climb."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
According to Bosch's group, the largest hit to the economy under Biden was an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that tightened requirements for automakers to manufacture cleaner vehicles by 2026. The agency predicted the regulation will cost the economy $180 billion.
Other agencies with notable costs to the economy include the Treasury Department at $84.4 billion, Department of Transportation at $16 billion, Department of Health and Human Services at $15.1 million, Department of Labor at $8.8 billion, Department of Energy at $7.2 billion and Department of Homeland Security at $6.3 billion.
GOP lawmakers said Biden's regulations are a significant hurdle to economic growth. Rep. Roger Williams, R.-Texas, said small businesses are more and more at risk under the Democratic administration.
"Certainty is key for small businesses, and under the Biden administration, businesses are operating in fear of the next costly new regulation that will come down the pipeline," Williams told Fox News Digital. "As Main Street America continues to deal with rampant inflation and the consequences of the Biden administration’s failed economic policies, we should be looking for ways to make it easier for businesses to operate and compete, not inundate them with burdensome new paperwork."
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Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R.-Mo., the top Republican on the House Small Business Committee, said the federal government under Biden has decimated business owners.
"Whether it is reckless spending or burdensome regulations, this administration is no friend to Main Street USA," Luetkemeyer told Fox News Digital. "This administration is the epitome of big government. This kind of policymaking is driving the economic headwinds Americans are currently facing."
Biden’s legislative victories through the American Rescue Plan, infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act came with staggering costs. The administration’s policies through executive and legislative actions will add nearly $5 trillion to the national deficit by 2031, according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget.
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Rep. Pete Stauber, R.-Minn., said the Biden administration is a major factor in the poor state of the economy, especially for small businesses.
"These are the men and women who employ nearly half of all Americans, and they are barely hanging on by a thread thanks to the policies of this administration, which have resulted in 40-year high inflation," Stauber told Fox News Digital. "It is clear that this administration is crushing the dreams of entrepreneurs, making their businesses fail and forcing them to be dependent on the government."
