Obama the Deregulator?

James Gattuso / May 26, 2011

Four months after President Obama called for a government-wide initiative to identify outdated regulations that are stifling the American economy, the first results are in.

As announced today by Obama “regulatory czar” Cass Sunstein, agencies have identified a wide-ranging set of regulations to roll back, promising some welcome savings for consumers and the economy. Among the steps highlighted today by Sunstein:

• Eliminating an EPA requirement that gas stations maintain gas vapor recovery systems, a requirement that is redundant with air pollution controls required on cars today. Estimated savings: $67 million.
• Scaling back Department of Transportation requirements that railroads maintain automated anti-collision systems to areas where it is actually needed. Estimated savings: $400 million per year.
• Eliminating some 1.9 million hours of Occupational Safety and Health Administration paperwork, saving businesses some $40 million annually. (more…)