President Trump has saved taxpayers more than $86 billion in regulatory costs during his first three months in the White House, according to a new study from a conservative group.
The American Action Forum (AAF) points to several Obama-era regulations that Trump has either rolled back on his own or with the help of Republican lawmakers using the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
This includes the Education Department’s school accountability standards, the Environmental Protection Agency’s waters of the United States rule and the so-called “blacklisting” rule for government contractors.
{mosads}These are just a few examples mentioned in the report. Since taking office, Trump and Congress have repealed 13 rules with the CRA. The CRA allows lawmakers to overturn recent rules they disapprove of with a simple majority in Congress, and send the action to the president for his signature.
“Just as there are fiscal costs for new significant rules, there can be savings from repealing old rules through comprehensive regulatory reform,” said Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy at the AAF.
Proponents of stronger regulation warn that critics often assess only the costs of these rules, but overlook the financial benefits they create.