Growth in U.S. regulatory spending continues
Since 2000, the U.S. annual budget outlays for regulatory activities increased by more than 75 percent; one example: the fiscal 2011 budget calls for more than $59 billion dollars to be spend on homeland security — this is the largest federal regulatory budget to date
A new study from Washington University in St. Louis reveals that U.S. regulatory spending and staffing is at an all-time high.
Since 2000, the annual budget outlays for regulatory activities increased by more than 75 percent. One example: the fiscal 2011 budget calls for more than $59 billion dollars to be spend on homeland security. This is the largest federal regulatory budget to date.
“The dollar growth in spending over the last decade was more than double that of any previous decade,” said Melinda Warren of Washington University’s Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy. Warren is the co-author of the study, which has been conducted for the past thirty-two years.
“Spending and staffing in 2011 will continue this trend,” said Susan Dudley, co-author of the report and director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. “The allocation of regulatory expenditures among the different departments and agencies reflects continued national concerns about homeland security, housing and financial markets and corporate governance.”
Other agencies with homeland security missions also received budget increases in 2011, include:
- Coast Guard: $158 million increase
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): $129 million increase
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): $101 million increase.
Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all received budget increases of $100 million or more.
The report, A Decade of Growth in the Regulators’ Budget: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, is available for downloading.