Business Lobbying Groups Challenge Biden Administration Regulations in Increasingly Common Pattern

Washington – The Biden administration has finalised seven new rules this year alone, with topics ranging from gig economy workers and credit card fees through climate change disclosure requirements, all leading industry lobbying groups like the US Chamber of Commerce (CoC) to sue in a bid to block them.
The CoC led a group of business associations that filed suit against federal agencies soon after each rule’s passage by alleging their powers are being overstepped. The move is part of an increasingly common pattern, with more lawsuits expected from the chamber before Biden’s current term ends in 2024 – up to twenty-two according to CoC estimates.
The American Bankers Association (ABA) has also joined forces four times this September against financial regulatory bodies due to actions seen as stepping beyond their remit, after a decade of abstention from such legal challenges during Obama’s first term in office.
According to Neil Bradley, executive vice president at the CoC, litigation is always viewed as an action taken when there’re no other alternatives; he claimed that some rules go outside the scope of their authority and are not just about a single regulation but instead relate to around 1000 regulatory decisions passed annually.
The Biden administration has increased private sector regulation volume since Trump’s time in office, especially with George Mason University metric’s report demonstrating significant expansion compared to previous administrations. However, Patrick McLaughlin from the free-market Mercatus Center’s think tank considers it as less relevant than how these rules are being implemented by agencies that go beyond Congressional authorisation limits.
The CoC has already sued a dozen federal bodies under Biden’s presidency compared to four during Obama’s first term, with arguments primarily focusing on the claim that regulatory actions have exceeded congressionally delegated authority boundaries in various sectors. The Chamber claims it will take FTC Chair Lina Khan and other regulators to court over specific issues regardless of their content as they believe such moves set a dangerous precedent for future rulemaking activities by agencies beyond Congressional authorisation limits, even if the group agrees with them on substance matters.
The Biden administration defends its regulatory actions’ legitimacy, stating that all rules aim at protecting consumers and cutting down expenses – notably highlighting around $46 billion in health-based savings by 2032 under proposed EPA guidelines alone alongside raising wage standards by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to halt unauthorised credit card late fees.
However, there’s a cost of compliance for businesses too, with some investment plans being derailed or undervalued due to previously unknown rules and their enforcement methods, as noted by Mercatus Center’s McLaughlin.