Federal Register, 2013

It contains over 80,000 pages of new rules, regulations, and notices all written and passed by unelected bureaucrats. The small stack of papers on top of the display are the laws passed by elected members of Congress and signed into law by the president. Mike Lee, U.S. Senator, Utah, Republican

So I glanced through the online index.  Quite an eye opener, and it’s not difficult to see what is holding back the economy and why the United States has dropped in the “Freedom Index.”

For instance, in 2013 the Food and Nutrition Service published 65 articles—42 of which were Notices, like this on Dec. 31, 2013, asking for public comments on an extension, without change, about the Child Nutrition Database.

Database Qualification Report.
Affected Public: Business for-profit
(Manufacturers of food produced for
schools.)
Form: FNS–710.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
32.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 35.
Estimated Total Annual Responses:
1,120.
Estimated Time per Response: 2.0
Hours.
Total Annual Burden: 2,240 Hours.
Dated: December 24, 2013.

“Annual regulatory costs increased by more than $23.5 billion during President Barack Obama’s fourth year in office—and by a total of nearly $70 billion during the first term. While historical records are incomplete, that magnitude of regulation is likely unmatched by any Administration in the nation’s history. And, despite a much-touted initiative to weed out unnecessary regulations, only two major rule changes reduced regulatory burdens in 2012.” Heritage Foundation, May 1, 2013

“The most costly regulations were automotive fuel-economy standards issued by the EPA and DOT that will increase sticker prices by an estimated $1,800, followed by the EPA’s power plant emission limits that will hike utility bills for consumers.”

10 worst regulations of 2013