Obama Releases Agenda for More Regulations, Just Before Holiday Weekend

James Gattuso / May 22, 2015

It’s the day before the Memorial Day holiday, and that can only mean one thing: It is time for President Obama to unveil his agenda for new rules he wants to impose on the American people.

Required by law to release plans for new regulations twice a year, the administration has consistently chosen to do so immediately before major holidays.

This is no coincidence: It’s well-known in Washington that if you want to bury some untoward news, you release it before a holiday, when few are paying attention. As shown in the table below, the Obama administration’s red tape spoolers have taken this to heart, with each of the past six regulatory agendas released just before a major holiday.

Obama’s Politically Timed Agenda Releases

Agenda           Release Date

Fall 2012         Dec. 21 (Friday before Christmas)

Spring 2013     July 3 (day before Independence Day)

Fall 2013         Nov. 27 (day before Thanksgiving)

Spring 2014     May 23 (Friday of Memorial Day weekend)

Fall 2014         Dec. 22 (three days before Christmas)

Spring 2015    May 21 (Thursday before Memorial Day weekend)

And they have good reason to hide. This agenda shows 136 economically significant rules in the pipeline—an all-time record.

These include an Environmental Protection Agency rule tightening already-tight carbon emission regulations for power plants, Food and Drug Administration regulations for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and cigars, and new Consumer Product Safety Commission safety standards for off-road vehicles.

This agenda provides yet more evidence that the red tape entangling Americans and strangling the U.S. economy is continuing to grow without constraint. As outlined in our recent “Red Tape Rising,” report, Congress should take immediate steps to control this excessive regulation.

This article has been modified.