Roy Blunt: I will work with President Trump to ease burdensome regulations

(From Sen. Roy Blunt)

When I travel across Missouri, I hear from families, farmers, and small business owners who tell me that one of the biggest barriers to job creation and economic growth is all the red tape that is coming from federal agencies in Washington.

That’s no surprise. The Obama administration handed down a record-breaking 600 major new regulations, imposing more than $700 billion in costs on our economy.

What Washington bureaucrats don’t seem to understand is that the costs associated with these regulations will ultimately be passed on to consumers, making it more difficult for hardworking families to make ends meet.

That’s why I’ve been especially encouraged to see President Trump taking significant steps to roll back many of the most onerous Obama-era regulations that were rushed through in the last days of the administration.

To date, Congress has passed and the president has signed 13 Congressional Review Act resolutions to repeal harmful executive branch regulations, saving an estimated $10 billion over a ten-year period in regulatory costs. When combined with other executive orders the president has signed, the total annual savings could be as much as $18.8 billion, according to the American Action Forum.

Many Missourians I’ve heard from are particularly relieved that the president has signed executive orders to begin dismantling two of the most burdensome Obama administration regulations: the WOTUS Rule and so-called Clean Power Plan.

Together, these rules would have slowed economic growth and driven up the cost on everything from groceries to utility bills, and piled red tape on the farmers and ranchers we’re depending on to drive growth in the agriculture industry.

President Trump and this Congress have an historic opportunity to rein in the excessive regulatory agenda that defined the previous administration. I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump on behalf of American families, farmers, and small businesses to reduce burdensome regulations, while increasing transparency and accountability in Washington.