The Facts on Rising Red Tape: A Response to The Washington Post

James Gattuso / January 20, 2011

Do regulatory costs matter? Not quite, according to the January 14 “Fact Checker” column on WashingtonPost.com.

The column, by Glenn Kessler, criticizes Heritage’s recent “Red Tape Rising” report, which documented the growing cost of federal regulation in fiscal 2010. Noting that the study has been prominently cited by Rep. Darrell Issa (R–CA), the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he awards Issa a metaphorical “Pinocchio” for using data from the report. (Issa was given a second Pinocchio for using a study commissioned by the Small Business Administration on the total cost of regulation.)

Kessler seems eager to call the Congressman a wooden-headed liar, but you’d think he would at least identify a misstatement or some kind of error in the Heritage report before leveling the charge. He does not, although Kessler does manage to misinterpret or misstate some facts himself. (more…)