'There Has Been an Explosion of Regulation and Regulations Issued in the First Years of the Obama Administration'

Don't worry, folks, it's all about the future and job creation now or something, despite the punitive actions by the Obama administration against business the past two years. One man the media should focus on but refuses to is Cass Sunstein. I doubt more than 2% of the public even knows who he is. If they did there'd probably be an insurrection.

U.S. House Republicans prodded President Barack Obama’s top regulatory official on proposed environmental rules and whether they are in conflict with the administration’s pledge to scrap unnecessary regulations.

Lawmakers told Cass Sunstein, head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, that the Environmental Protection Agency plans to limit carbon emissions, crack down on polluting boilers and set automobile emission standards may stunt economic growth and force companies out of business.

“There has been an explosion of regulation and regulations issued in the first years of the Obama administration,” Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, said today at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. “I don’t see that you have done anything to slow that down.”

Sunstein, 56, testified before Republicans who are questioning the administration’s regulatory overreach as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complains of a “tsunami” of regulations they say hinder growth and discourage companies from new investments.

“Any rule that imposes significant costs, we have significant concerns about,” Sunstein told the panel. “We will be focusing very closely on the job impacts of new regulations.”

Oh, great. Now they'll focus on the job impacts. Maybe they should've considered it before onerous regulation was forced on businesses. Sadly, I suspect they'll realize they haven't destroyed enough jobs and will further tighten regulations.

Obama on Jan. 18 ordered a review of U.S. regulations to remove or overhaul those that stifle economic expansion without helping consumers. The initiative is part of an executive order that he said would codify a balanced approach to regulation.

Don't buy a word of it.

At the hearing, Republicans said two administration proposals have caused concern for business and may hurt the environment.

The EPA’s first phase of greenhouse-gas regulations took effect this year, applying mainly to power plants and oil refineries. The agency has said it will propose a second wave of standards later this year.

The EPA faces a court-ordered mid-February deadline to issue emission standards for boilers and incinerators.

Don't sweat it. They can just blame job losses on the weather.

Naturally, any questioning of Obama's minions is seen as a display of ugly partisanship.