The American Action Forum (AAF) found that the Biden-Harris administration has spent nearly $1.78 trillion in rules and regulations since January 2021.
Total net costs since January 2024 are $1.46 trillion, AAF wrote, noting that the government spent $1.33 trillion in new costs from finalized rules.
As of November 1, the government finalized 327 regulations.
The Biden administration’s regulatory costs are significantly greater than those of former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama. Where Biden’s final rule costs reach nearly $1.8 trillion, Trump’s cost $3 billion, and Obama’s cost $490.5 billion. Where Biden had 1070 final rules, Trump had 1180, and Obama had 1439. Biden’s administration also has the most paperwork hours, with 339.5 million put in since 2021.
One of the more “consequential” rules made recently by the Biden administration surrounds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The finalized rule, announced in October, requires drinking water systems across the United States utilizing lead pipes to be replaced within 10 years. The rule’s quantifiable annual costs will be $1.47 to $1.95 billion, according to the agency.
The lead pipe rule is the “primary reason why the Biden Administration’s final rule costs and paperwork totals both had a substantive increase,” AAF reported.
“Of particular note, the Biden Administration’s to-date cost total now stands at nearly $1.78 trillion,” AAF continued. “To give a sense of the scale involved here, this total is now roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Australia or the fiscal year 2024 federal budget deficit.”
