Report: Obama officials issued $216 billion in regulations last year

The Obama administration issued $236 billion worth of new regulations last year, according to a report from a conservative think tank.

The analysis from the American Action Forum, led by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, found that the administration added $216 billion in rules and more than $20 billion in regulatory proposals in 2012. Complying with those rules will require an additional 87 million hours of paperwork, the report said.

The group put the total price tag from regulations during Obama’s first term at more than $518 billion.

American Action Forum credited the administration for erasing $2.5 billion in regulatory costs last year, but said that paled in comparison to $34 billion in regulatory compliance costs reported by top companies since 2009.

 The Environmental Protection Agency racked up the most in regulatory costs last year, according to the report, issuing $172 billion worth of rules. Regulations from the healthcare reform law tacked an additional $20.1 billion in costs onto the economy.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, several EPA clean air rules and the Affordable Care Act were the most notable regulatory expenses last year. But prison reform standards and conflict minerals regulation also cost a total of $10 billion in 2012, the report found.

Though the study lists the costs of regulations, it does not calculate any benefits that might have resulted from them.

The American Action Forum is the policy-focused sister organization of the American Action Network.

By Megan R. Wilson