U.S. Chamber of Commerce Releases Study on Federal Regulations
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In August, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new study in a series of reports seeking to unscramble and shed light on the federal regulatory process and the impact that this broken system has on our country.
In its eighth study, The Growing Burden of Unfunded EPA Mandates and the States, the organization examines an ongoing burden crippling our states: How can states administer 96.5 percent of all federal delegated environmental programs, yet federal grants to the states fund no more than 28 percent of the amount needed to run the programs?
The findings in this study conclude that instead of being the system of cooperative federalism that Congress intended, the current relationship between the Environmental Protection Agency and the states has become one-sided, with the federal government imposing its will.
The Chamber recommends Congress take specific steps to alleviate and prevent EPA from continuing to commandeer the states. These recommendations include redefining the term "mandate" to better track the impact on the states, passing the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015, enacting the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, and several other actions outlined in the study.
To read the complete study, along with the entire series of regulatory reports please visit www.uschamber.com/etra.
