"The rules would cost businesses billions of dollars, but the benefits, if any, are uncertain."
The old rule would have cost him just two minutes in the penalty box.
Industries had complained that the rules would cost far more than they are worth.
The new rules, which the Government spent 10 years to develop, cost manufacturers around $2 billion.
The rule could cost business an estimated $220 million, about $6 per employee.
Have health and environmental rules cost America jobs, or not?
Expected to be finalized in the next week, this rule would cost almost $11 billion annually according to the Agency's calculations.
He also said that the rule would cost the petroleum industry $540 million a year.
For most of the last year, economic advisers have been sympathetic to industry's complaints that the rules would cost far more than they are worth.
Social Security officials say the new rules will cost the Government $5 million a year.