Bush isn’t big on restraining spending. Turns out he’s not big on restraining regulations either. According to an annual report issued jointly by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis:
The FY 2006 Budget requests that Congress allocate $41.4 billion for regulatory activities, up from $39.5 billion in 2005. This reflects a 4.8 percent increase in outlays directed at writing, administering, and enforcing federal regulations. The regulators’ budget is growing at a faster rate than other nondiscretionary spending, which the President’s budget held to only 2.1 percent in 2006. Since 2000, the regulators’ budget has grown an amazing 46 percent, after adjusting for inflation.
Article here.