WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's latest executive order limiting new regulations and eliminating old ones will look familiar to Alaskans who closely follow legislation offered by Sen. Dan Sullivan.
On Monday Trump issued an order that will require federal agencies to repeal two regulations for every one issued.
Last year and at the start of this Congress, Sullivan introduced his "RED Tape Act," which requires a one-in, one-out standard for regulations.
The idea didn't originate with Trump or Sullivan — it's been done in Great Britain and Canada. But the two have spoken about it in recent months, according to Sullivan's spokesman Mike Anderson.
The Republican senator was happy to see his favored policy see presidential action.
"After eight years of stagnant economic growth, reigniting the American economy should be job No. 1 for the Congress and the new administration," Sullivan said. "Since 2015, I have been advocating on the Senate floor for the RED Tape Act, which would cap federal regulations, and give our job creators some relief to grow and hire again. President Trump's executive order today is a bold step toward fixing the problem of overregulation."
Sullivan said he still hopes to pass his legislation "to strengthen the order."
The executive order says that "for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination," and the cost of regulations should be controlled through the budget process.
Actually repealing regulations will likely be a complicated and time-consuming affair. But the order does not require outright repeal — just that, "Unless prohibited by law, whenever an executive department or agency … publicly proposes … a new regulation, it shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed."
And for 2017, the total cost of regulations is to be "zero," unless otherwise required by law, the order states. Since most regulations are in some manner required by laws passed by Congress, this is a likely to be one issue that lands in the courts.
The order says that cost savings from eliminated regulations can be deducted from costs. But it is unclear if there is a mechanism for agencies to consider financial benefits of regulations that often come separately from the costs — particularly with environmental regulations. Agencies are expected to receive guidance on standardizing measurement of regulatory costs. Quantifying the cost of regulations is often a source of controversy.