EPA, Labor Dept. bear brunt of industry advice to Trump
Just days after taking office, President Donald Trump invited American manufacturers to recommend ways the government could cut regulations and make it easier for companies to get their projects approved.
Industry leaders responded with scores of suggestions that paint the clearest picture yet of the dramatic series of steps that Trump officials are likely to take in overhauling federal policies, especially those designed to advance environmental protection and safeguard worker rights.
Those clues are embedded in the 168 comments submitted to the government after Trump signed a presidential memorandum Jan. 24 instructing the Commerce Department to figure out how to ease permitting and trim regulations with the aim of boosting domestic manufacturing.
The Environmental Protection Agency has emerged as the primary target in these comments, accounting for nearly half, with the Labor Department in second place as the subject of more than a fifth, according to a Commerce Department analysis.
Industry’s to-do list
Among the notable items on industry’s to-do list:
• BP wants to make it easier to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico by reducing how often companies have to get their leases renewed.
• A trade association representing the pavement industry wants to preclude the U.S. Geological Survey from conducting what the group calls “advocacy research” into the environmental impact of coal tar. They say this research could limit what it uses to seal parking lots and driveways.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to reduce the amount of time opponents have to challenge federal approval of projects. Challenges would have to be filed within two years instead of six.
• The Chamber also wants to jettison a requirement that employers report their injury and illness records electronically to the Labor Department so they can be posted “on the internet for anyone to see.”
• And in its comment, the Associated General Contractors of America recommended repealing 11 of President Barack Obama’s executive orders and memorandums, including one establishing paid sick leave for government contractors.
Three senior administration officials in different departments said the White House is inclined to accept many of these suggestions. They asked for anonymity to discuss a process that is still underway.
Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s senior vice president, said in an interview that the EPA has led the government in issuing “high-cost, high-impact regulations” that harmed businesses. The Chamber estimated that rules issued under Obama would cost businesses more than $70 billion annually.
“Now, we have an administration who’s interested” in streamlining federal approvals and rules, Bradley said, and is providing relief “from a regulatory onslaught that occurred, principally, during the prior administration.”
Across the government, administration officials are beginning to flesh out how they can scale back rules imposed by Obama — and in some cases, his predecessors. Officials are launching websites to take suggestions, holding meetings with chief executives and industry representatives and drawing up recommendations to submit to the White House.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is scheduled toward the end of next month to submit his report on stimulating domestic manufacturing.
“This is the first time any administration has canvassed the private sector to find the worst regulatory and permitting problems, and it is axiomatic that you can’t solve a problem until you have identified it,” Ross said, adding that officials were “refining their recommendations” now “to take responsible action. We look forward ... to unshackle the innovative spirit that made this country great.”
Liberal concern for long term
The National Association of Manufacturers began preparing its response the day Trump signed the memorandum, according to Rosario Palmieri, its vice president for labor, legal and regulatory policy. On March 27, NAM hosted a meeting at its offices in which representatives from 100 companies discussed their recommendations with Commerce staff.
The campaign to roll back regulations has sparked concern among liberal advocacy groups and former Obama administration officials, who said the government must keep long-term consequences in mind as it considers unwinding rules aimed at protecting the environment and workers.
“At a time when many CEOs are focused on the short term and looking to maximize their profitability each quarter, I believe that a lot of their aversion to these regulations reflects a short-term mind-set that values reducing costs over anything else,” said Jeffrey Zients, who worked in Obama’s White House. “That’s unfortunate, because well-crafted regulations are an important part of creating sustainable and fair economic prosperity in the long run.”