Following remarks about reducing regulations during a recent Congressional Republican Retreat in Philadelphia, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 30 requiring that government agencies revoke two existing regulations for each new one they issue.
Trump signed the order during a meeting of small business leaders at the White House. Trump stated his intention to issue such an action shortly after his election.
The order states the following: “It is the policy of the executive branch to be prudent and financially responsible in the expenditure of funds, from both public and private sources. In addition to the management of the direct expenditure of taxpayer dollars through the budgeting process, it is essential to manage the costs associated with the governmental imposition of private expenditures required to comply with federal regulations. Toward that end, it is important that for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination, and that the cost of planned regulations be prudently managed and controlled through a budgeting process.”
The order goes on to state that zero dollars will be budgeted for new regulations for fiscal year 2017 and that the cost of new regulations must “be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least two prior regulations.” It also states that “[b]eginning with the Regulatory Plans (required under Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, as amended, or any successor order) for fiscal year 2018, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the head of each agency shall identify, for each regulation that increases incremental cost, the offsetting regulations described in section 2(c) of this order, and provide the agency's best approximation of the total costs or savings associated with each new regulation or repealed regulation.”
Although he said during the meeting that the environment for small businesses got “particularly bad over the last eight years,” he did not intend his action as “a knock on President Obama,” stating that “this is a knock on many presidents preceding me.”
“Dodd-Frank is a disaster. We’re going to be doing a big number on Dodd-Frank,” he said during the meeting. “We’re going to create an environment for small businesses like we haven’t had in many, many decades.”
Trump spent a portion of his time at the Republican retreat highlighting his agenda to eliminate “economic burdens” and “reduce regulations, big time.” Doing so, he said, would result in lower taxes for the middle class and the creation of “millions of new good paying jobs.”
“At the center of that agenda is bold tax reform that massively lowers taxes for our middle class and for all American businesses,” Trump said. “We will also pursue a financial reform. That will help striving Americans get the credit they need to realize their dreams.”
Trump referenced having issued “executive orders to remove wasteful regulations that slow down commerce and delay infrastructure.” Because this statement came prior to the Jan. 30 executive order, it is likely, at that time, he was referring to his action requiring a 60-day regulatory freeze on all rules that have not yet taken effect. The freeze permits his administration to review and repeal any such rule.
Vice President Mike Pence also spoke during the retreat, specifically addressing the administration’s intention of “dismantling Dodd-Frank’s laws,” referring to the mandates they put on organizations as “overbearing.” He expressed optimism about the Congressional Review Act because it allows legislators to offer “regulatory relief” to the economy as they “roll back the recent avalanche of regulations stifling American growth.” He said that the regulatory rollbacks would start the week following the Jan. 26 event.
Trump’s and Pence’s remarks about financial reform and regulatory relief drew praise from Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in a statement following the retreat. Hensarling’s Financial Choice Act, which he plans to reintroduce this year, proposes to alleviate many regulations instituted by Dodd-Frank that many industry professionals believe to be overly burdensome. In his statement, he referred to the act of dismantling Dodd-Frank as “necessary if we ever hope to enjoy a healthy economy and make America great again.”
“No bureaucrat in Washington should be able to tell hardworking Americans what kind of credit card, bank account, mortgage or retirement advice they can have, but that’s exactly what Dodd-Frank does,” he said in his statement. “As the president and vice president have said, Dodd-Frank makes it harder for people to get loans to buy a home or start a small business. Consumers are paying more in fees and are losing benefits and access to services they want and need. Instead of ending ‘too big to fail,’ Dodd-Frank institutionalizes bailouts for big banks. Dodd-Frank’s regulations give Wall Street a competitive advantage over community banks and credit unions. In fact, since Dodd-Frank became law the big banks have gotten bigger and the small banks are fewer.”