Contact:   Amy Frantz    

319-385-3462

Chipping Away at the Burden of Government Regulations

            Mt. Pleasant, IA – Iowa consumers ultimately pay for the tremendous cost of businesses complying with government regulations.   That’s the finding of Public Interest Institute Research Analyst Amy Frantz.   In an August INSTITUTE BRIEF, Frantz says recent reports say those costs drive up the prices of goods and services produced. 

          Frantz cites research from Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. of the Cato Institute which looks at the regulatory burden imposed by the federal government.   That research showed that in 2001 a total of 4,132 final regulations were issued by federal agencies.  

          Frantz says while government agencies continue to turn out new regulations, there is a renewed push to ensure these regulations accomplish what they are set out to do, without placing an undue cost on those who must carry them out.  

          In conclusion, Frantz says there is some light at the end of the tunnel.   The Federal Data Quality Act goes into effect on October 1, 2002.   This law requires government agencies to use sound data to back up new rules and regulations issued.   It also allows any individual or group to challenge proposed regulations.

          For additional information on this INSTITUTE BRIEF or any other Public Interest Institute publication, you may contact PII at 319-385-3462, or log on to the PII web site at:

www.limitedgovernment.org.

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