Bush Administration Regulatory Developments, Essay Example

“Since 2001, the federal government has imposed almost $30 billion in new regulatory costs on Americans. About $11 billion was imposed in fiscal year (FY) 2007 alone.”[1](Gattuso, 2008). “Historically, the amount of regulatory activity surges dramatically in the last year of a presidential Administration, whether Repub­lican or Democrat, as regulators, freed from normal political constraints, clean off their desks.” [2](Gattuso, 2008). Is this a good or bad thing for the American people? That depends on what reform is attempting to pass Congress!  “If Americans do not file regulatory tax forms on April 15, there is no bottom line indicating how much they pay for these regulations. Hidden or not, however, the tax is considered large.”[3](Gattuso, 2008).  “According to a 2005 study for the Small Business Administration, the cost of all rules on the books is $1.1 trillion, about the same amount that Americans paid in federal income taxes in 2007.” [4](Crain, 2005). That is an extremely high dollar value considering there is no law in the Constitution that states Americans have to legally pay income tax.

“The Bush Administration during its seven years in office made significant efforts to rein in regulation, mostly through enhanced review of regulatory proposals to ensure that any new restrictions are necessary and impose as little bur­den as possible.” [5](Gattuso, 2008).  “More important than the mere number of pages in the Federal Register or the CFR is the content of those pages: How many rules are being adopted, and what do they cost Americans?” [6](Gattuso, 2008). American people have to keep a tight watch on the passage of reform because it is certainly advantageous for the reforms to stay at a minimum for the American people’s advantage. Too much change causes chaos and it is not in the people’s favour at the end of a Presidential term.  “Many thousands of regulatory actions are taken each year: 3,595 rules were printed in the Federal Register in 2007 alone.” [7](“U.S. National Archives and Records Administration”) “However, a large number of these are not “regulatory” in the commonly understood sense of the word because they do not limit or impose mandates on private activities. Many rules each year are fiscal in nature, such as those that establish rules and conditions for federal spending programs. Excluding these “non-regulatory” rules still leaves many thousand agency actions each year that increase or decrease regulatory burdens.” [8](Gattuso, 2008).

“Contrary to much popular rhetoric about mas­sive regulatory rollbacks, the regulatory burden on Americans has grown, not shrunk, during President George W. Bush’s tenure. This growth was relatively slow during the first few years of the Administra­tion, but it has been accelerating. Consistent with past trends, a surge in regulation may be in the cards for the President’s final year.” [9](Gattuso, 2008).

Clinton Administration Regulatory Developments

“The regulatory record of the Clinton administration was better than that of George H. W. Bush, primarily because relatively little new regulatory authority was approved on Bill Clinton’s watch. That is the good news. You already know the bad news: The Bush record was awful. The Bush administration endorsed more costly regulatory legislation than any other administration since Nixon. Clinton’s Health Care Proposal of 1993 never reached the floor of Congress.” [10](Niskanen, 2001).  The ratification of Kyoto Global Warming Treaty and proposed Tobacco Legislation did not receive approval from Congress either. “These saved Clinton’s regulatory record, fortunately for the American people. Congress did initiate and approve most of the agricultural, telecommunications and financial services bills during Clinton’s rule. Other changes included ending restrictions on interstate banking, deregulating trucking, and totally terminating the Interstate Commerce Commission. The only significant federal regulations were 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the 1996 legislation that produced a two-step increase in the minimum wage.” [11](Niskensen, 2001). This was very advantageous to the working people of America. “The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act was reinitiated and comprehensive pesticide acts were reauthorized for the protection of crops and agriculture consumption to the people.”[12](Niskansen, 2001).

Similarities to Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Regulatory Schemes

The Bush and Clinton regulatory schemes showed proven similarities to the primary schemes pronounced by Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt because they both were attempting to improve the American people’s progressivism stance in relation to regulations. This was maintained in order to protect the rights of the American people. Though both Roosevelt President’s fought for different rights within the regulatory schemes, their purposes were similar that of to give relief to the American people and bring about economic recovery at present and in the future. Most of the proposed laws were for reform through New Deal programs. This is the same policy that Clinton followed with his reforms.

References

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Crain M. (2005) The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/research/rs264tot.pdf

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register, “Chart 10: Federal Register Documents, 1976–2008

[1] [1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[1] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf

[1] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf

[1] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf

[1] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[2] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[3] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[4] Crain M. (2005) The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/research/rs264tot.pdf

[5] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[6] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[7] U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register, “Chart 10: Federal Register Documents, 1976–2008

[8] [8] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[9] Gattuso J. (2008) Red Tape Rising:  Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.heritage.org/research/regulation/bg2116.cfm

[10] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf

[11] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf

[12] Niskanen W. (2001) The Clinton Regulatory Legacy Retrieved September 12, 2009 from, http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv24n2/clinton.pdf