(PatriotWise.com) — Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan told reporters at a conference in Houston that officials in the Biden administration were “having fun” creating and implementing a host of new regulations aimed at tackling climate change. He was referring specifically to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which will authorize spending of $391 billion on new energy enterprises and climate change initiatives. It is the largest investment in clean energy in the history of the United States. The legislation was signed by President Biden in August 2022. It will also lower the cost of prescription drugs, and allocate $238 billion for deficit reduction.
Biden and his team have been busy with regulation proposals of late and produced almost $15 billion worth in just one week. According to Dan Goldbeck, director of regulatory policy at the American Action Forum, new rules about laundry machines and refrigerators cost almost that amount in regulatory expenses, as well as thousands of hours in paperwork. To make energy savings in the home, the White House has prescribed standards for domestic appliances. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act requires the Department of Energy to “periodically determine whether more stringent standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified,” potentially creating yet more cost and administration going forward.
Republicans have said they intend to use their new majority in the House of Representatives to hit back against what they call the President’s regulatory overreach. “We’d like to see radical regulations get overturned,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La) has said. The House recently voted to reject Biden’s rules on determining which bodies of water will require permits before nearby construction is allowed to take place. While GOP members said the rule will create a fragmented and complex system, the White House insists it will provide “clear rules of the road that will help advance infrastructure projects.”
Since entering the White House, President Biden has enacted 543 new rules at a cost of just under $360 billion.
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