FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RULES ARE MANY, COSTLY

When tax bills come due, Americans are all too familiar how the federal government invites itself into our wallets. What may be more obscure but just as aggravating is the federal government's intrusion into our daily lives through endless rules and regulations.

Sometimes we invite the regulation through acceptance of federal dollars. The "gift" of federal grants or endowments is typically accompanied by long and knotty strings. Such is the case at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. For more than two years, this entrance to the city has been in disarray during a delay-plagued renovation of the terminal building. The project has proven inconvenient for both travelers and businesses, and can't but hurt the already precarious local boarding numbers.

Since the city is reliant upon federal funds for the renovation, the Federal Aviation Administration closely regulated the project. Once the city completed bid specifications in October 1991, the specs were sent to the FAA for review. Changes delayed bidding until February 1992. Talk about ridiculous - negotiations got down to as much detail as the square footage of a closet.

The plans were redrawn and again sent back to the FAA, which must approve almost every step of the process. Once the project finally went to bid - the federal government stepped in again. The contractor with the lowest bid didn't meet qualifications for the government's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.

Under federal guidelines, bidders on the city's airport project must make efforts to subcontract at least 10.7 percent of the contract to small businesses owned and controlled by "socially and economically disadvantaged individuals." After rejecting the low bidder, the FAA threatened to do the same for the second low bidder. Whatever happened to the best person for the job?

A Perryville firm finally received the contract - but then renovation work waited on asbestos removal. The federal government continues to mandate asbestos removal in our schools and businesses although some experts suggest that the process may pose more dangers than leaving the asbestos hidden in walls and ceilings.

Other delays have come locally. The project is finally nearing completion, and looks quite attractive. But we have to wonder at what cost this two-year construction project may have on permanent use of the airport?

Federal regulations are not always accompanied by dollars. In a growing number of cases, the maze of federal rules are thrust upon businesses and state governments without inducement. A good example is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which will cost the state of Missouri $38 million alone this year to work toward compliance.

In a weekend visit to Cape Girardeau, House Budget Chairman Chris Kelly told the Southeast Missouri Press Association that the ADA is a terrible piece of legislation that will cost business, local and state governments millions of dollars.

While the law might have been well intended, Kelly said it's not the kind of choice the federal government should impose on state government. After all, the feds aren't paying for it - the private sector, state and local governments will bear the costs.

He makes a good point. That's not to say making buildings handicapped accessible is not important. But mandates without money are not fair - and many times the requirements go too far. The Columbia Democrat pointed to ramps built at state warehouses where no one in a wheel chair ever goes.

Kelly believes that with ADA the federal government was looking for something positive to do because they can't take care of the business at hand - balancing the budget. He well understands the travails of the handicapped, as his mother has been confined to a wheel chair since he was 8 years old.

Closer to home, complying with ADA will prove costly for Southeast Missouri State University. From doorknobs to bathrooms and ramps to elevators, meeting the federal requirements will cost the university $1,030,000 over a two-year period. Currently there are 18 students at Southeast who have been identified by the university as being disabled. That means the cost to the university will amount to more than $57,000 per handicapped student.

These are only two examples of the high price of federal regulations. That's why the federal government's proposed journey into health care makes us worry. Increased access will come with higher costs for all of us. We have to wonder if Americans can afford any more good intentions of the federal government.