Trump Proposes Repeal of 10 Regs for Each New Reg

Through an executive order signed January 31 President Trump proposed that, for every new regulation issued by a federal agency, the agency must identify “10 existing regulations” that would be repealed. The order says over-regulation has “increased costs and inflation, killed jobs and businesses, reduced choice, discouraged innovation, and infringed on liberties.”

Of significance to truckers, among the bureaucracies the order targets are U.S. DOT, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Labor, key agencies that impose regulations on trucking. In 2017 President Trump issued a similar executive order, directing federal agencies to cut two regulations for every one new one, but only targeting regulations projected to cost $100 million or more. According to a fact sheet about the new executive order, the 2017 order exceeded its goal by eliminating five-and-one-half regulations for every new one. Russell Vought, the Trump Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will be charged with enforcing the new order.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is leading the charge not only to review EPA regulations but also to reverse the rules and waivers granted by EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that effectively make California emissions standards the law of the land. As ICSA readers understand, the California truck pollution rules demand a leap in technology and increase new truck prices, which, in turn, trickle down to increase used truck prices.

The Biden Administration permitted EPA and NHTSA to enact rules and waivers affecting trucking – the most critical link in the supply chain - without any review by Congress. Under Trump, Congress may utilize the Congressional Review Act to overturn these California rules [see accompanying article on the CRA].

ICSA is closely monitoring the Congressional review process – not only because a considerable number of its members operate in California, but also because an additional ten states have said they will follow California’s lead in adopting the California regulations. These states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Watch our April Regulatory Roundup for more details on the status of review by Congress.