President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday morning to significantly roll back regulations, following through on claims that he would be “cutting regulation massively.”
According to the executive order, “It is the policy of the executive branch to be prudent and financially responsible in the expenditure of funds, from both public and private sources.”
“Toward that end, it is important that for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination, and that the cost of planned regulations be prudently managed and controlled through a budgeting process,” the order stated.
The news follows a meeting Trump had last week with business leaders where he stated that he plans to cut regulations by 75% or more.
While Trump made the previous 75% statement to top company CEO’s such as Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Trump signed Monday’s executive order surrounded by a group of small business owners.
An article in Reuters by Ayesha Rascoe clarified, “Major regulations are typically reviewed by the White House's Office of Management and Budget before they are issued. That review will continue under this new measure, but agencies will also have to identify what two regulations will be repealed to offset the costs of any new rule.”
It noted that the new order does not require that the repeal of the two regulations be done simultaneously with the release of additional rules.
The executive order also increased scrutiny toward the cost of regulations.
“For fiscal year 2017, which is in progress, the heads of all agencies are directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year shall be no greater than zero, unless otherwise required by law or consistent with advice provided in writing by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” the order stated.
The order expanded on this stating, “Any new incremental costs associated with new regulations shall, to the extent permitted by law, be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least two prior regulations.”
The full executive order can be found here, and check HousingWire later for coverage on how this executive order directly applies to housing finance.
