Like a bachelor before a date, the Obama administration rushed around during the transition hiding dirty laundry for the incoming administration. And now, almost 100 days in, the Trump team is still working to find and undo a handful of underreported bureaucratic messes left behind.
The Obama administration was on cruise control before the election because almost everyone in the president’s circle was sure that Hillary Clinton would win. However, as reality set in, the president and his team rushed through a series of regulatory measures, leaving behind a a few dirty socks for the Trump administration to pick up.
In fact, this public policy cleanup has consumed the administration during the first 100 days and shows no signs of slowing. It indicates pettiness on the part of an outgoing president who rejected the results of the election because they clashed with his pride.
One of the most public wins in this administration-to-administration game has been rolling back Obama’s rushed-through CAFE standards, which dictate how many MPG an automaker’s fleet must average. Despite announcing in 2016 that the government wouldn’t publish new standards until the middle of 2017, President Obama did exactly that as fast as possible after Clinton lost. (This might be the first example of a president breaking a campaign promise after someone else’s election.)
That wasn’t the only mess though. Obama proved amazingly effective when his vindictiveness was roused. His administration filed suits against companies that weren’t among his donors, and they checked off items from the supporter’s wish lists as well.
One example is an obscure rule that the Obama administration published just before the buzzer on Jan. 9 regarding beryllium alloy production, although the original rule closed to public comment in November 2015!?!
Why the rush at the end?
Well, the Obama administration wanted to “expand” the final rule in a way that covers the construction and maritime industries – instead of just people that handle beryllium alloy they wanted to cover everyone from dental technicians to abrasive blasters. One can only conclude that the administration published this rule at the 11th hour and after closing the comment period in order to shield the changes from public scrutiny, the exact reason for having a public comment period in the first place. If the rule change would have been handled transparently, OSHA might know that this closed door carve-out for organized labor is not supported by facts or data, and lumps two very different forms of beryllium exposure together regulating them as equals.
The effect? Lost jobs, higher-priced goods, and an even more complex regulatory environment in industries that are already highly regulated.
For instance, the abrasive blasting industry is already governed by dozens of OSHA regulations to protect worker safety, including requirements for personal protective equipment, ventilation, worksite conditions and employee education. And, despite the somewhat anonymity of the abrasive blasting industry, their economic impact is significant. The abrasive blasting industry employs more than 400,000 workers, with a significant “multiplier effect” on our economy. The abrasive blasters help keep our ports running. According to the Texas Senate, the state’s ports are responsible for roughly 30 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. That is significant, and there are similar economic stories in Louisiana, Maryland, and Virginia.
To be clear, beryllium alloy exposure has been linked to adverse health effects, so the original rule was understandable. However, by expanding the rule to include workers exposed to trace amounts of beryllium, the rule could dramatically affect our economy.
Trump is defining his legacy by striking these measures down.
Fortunately, incoming conservative bureaucrats are all too happy to scour the regulatory changes and reports for the even the smallest specks of dirt.
Charles Sauer is president of The Market Institute.
