John Boehner: “A Moratorium On New Federal Regulations Is A Great Idea”

by Stuart Shapiro

House Minority Leader John Boehner today called for a moratorium on all federal regulations.  He later backpedaled (or his spokesman did) and said that he didn’t mean emergency regulations for the oil industry.

“I think having a moratorium on new federal regulations is a great idea it sends a wonderful signal to the private sector that they’re going to have some breathing room.”

…

“I think there’s probably a way to do this with an exemption for emergency regulations that may be needed for some particular agency or another. But if the American people knew there was going to be a moratorium in effect for a year that the federal government wasn’t going to issue thousands more regulations, it would give them some breathing room.”

Wow.  So mining safety is no longer a problem?  How about food safety?  The environment? Financial risk taking (didn’t we just pass a bill on that this week)? How about health care?  Because moving forward in all of these areas depends on regulation.  Maybe if he’s interested in job creation, he’ll support a second stimulus package and stop worrying about this stuff.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.