Washington Examiner
Biden’s swamp record: $1.8 trillion in regulations, 800x Trump
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s experts on tracking regulation Besides breaking the cost burden on America with his regulations, Biden is on…
Blog
Biden’s regulatory report is in, but key costs remain in the shadows
The election is over and among much else, federal regulations are emerging front and center for the incoming administration. While the federal debt…
Blog
Biden’s 2024 Federal Register page count already second highest ever
We’ve not closed the Book of Regulation for 2024, Biden’s final calendar year in office, but we can mark a milestone nonetheless. The…
Capitol Matters
Now, About Deregulation . . .
Capitol Matters cited CEI’s expert on regulatory disciplines Wayne Crews, writing in Forbes in September:…
Blog
A 2024 CEI HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: A new inventory unmasking federal agency guidance documents
In my new Halloween-themed article at Forbes, I explore the eerie expanse of federal agency guidance documents. We have to try to have…
Washington Examiner
Biden poised to crash through regulations records
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on Biden’s record number of regulations “We could potentially see ourselves crossing the threshold of a 100,000…
Forbes
Darklore Depository 2024: A Halloween Inventory Of Federal Agency Guidance Documents
The U.S. Code archives federal laws. The 186,000-page Code of Federal Regulations is where rules from the daily Federal Register are embalmed. As spirits would have…
Forbes
Exposing Loopholes: How Federal Regulatory Oversight Laws Are Being Ignored
Passing new laws to reform and streamline the administrative state is important, and reformers consistently call for such oversight. But just as critical is ensuring…
Blog
The compliance crisis: Unveiling the regulatory loopholes agencies love
While federal regulatory reform is critical, it’s equally important that existing oversight laws be followed. Unfortunately, many of these laws are routinely disregarded, with…
Washington Examiner
Black voters warned that Harris vote-‘buying’ plan makes them dependent on government
CEI’s expert was cited by the Washington Examiner on ‘buying votes’ Deregulation expert Clyde Wayne Crews with the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Kamala’s Opportunity Agenda for Black Men: Regulatory frameworks masquerading as economic help
Recent developments signal a troubling trend for America’s small businesses, one that could alter the nation’s entrepreneurial landscape in a big and detrimental way.
Blog
Next time, let’s try emergency powers that shrink government
As the nation deals with the aftermath of successive natural disasters, the need for a renewed debate on federal emergency powers is increasingly clear.
Forbes
Emergency Powers Can Reduce Rather Than Expand Government
With back-to-back natural weather disasters dominating headlines, the use of federal emergency powers has become a focal point. It’s important to recognize that…
Washington Examiner
Trump and GOP urged to follow model deregulator, Jimmy Carter
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s experts on deregulatory legacy Read more at the Washington Examiner…
Forbes
The Surprising Deregulation Legacy Of Jimmy Carter—And Why It Still Matters
In the Wall Street Journal, former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm shared a compelling account of how President Jimmy Carter—who turns 100 October 1—has not received …
Blog
Pen and phone power: How presidential documents are changing the rules
Presidential executive orders and directives have long played a pivotal role in shaping federal policies and regulations. As President Obama famously remarked in 2014,…
Blog
Congress decides, not agencies: The significance of the REINvented REINS Act
It’s been repeated a million times that in our constitutional republic, lawmaking power belongs to Congress. But over the years, this authority has increasingly…
News Release
Updated REINS Act introduced in Senate and House
Today, Senator Rand Paul (R–KY) and Representative Kat Cammack (R, FL-03) introduced an updated version of the REINS (Regulations from the Executive In Need of…
Hoover Institution
Where the Candidates Stand on Regulation
The Hoover Institution cited CEI’s expert on regulatory burdens The US regulatory state is massive. Wayne Crews, the vice president for policy of…
Epoch Times
Congress’ Post-Chevron Dilemma: Take Back Power From Agencies or Concede It for Good
Epoch Times cited CEI’s expert on excessive government regulation When federal regulatory expert Wayne Crews was asked recently what Congress should do about…
Blog
Scaling deregulation: Can Trump achieve a 10-for-1 rule elimination?
In a speech at the Economic Club of New York, Donald Trump pledged if re-elected to eliminate—not two rules for every one added as…
Blog
Congress needs to fight the bureaucracy – and itself
After testifying before the House Committee on Administration in July on Congress in a Post-Chevron World, I received a series of Questions…
Testimony
Responses to Questions for the Record House Committee on Administration
The hearing topic and questions for the record raise foundational issues concerning the legitimacy of lawmaking and the entities responsible for crafting…
Blog
Congressional Review Act votes could claw back some of Biden’s regulations
As the Biden-Harris baton-passing administration approaches the final stretch of its first term, a critical deadline has passed that could render subsequent major federal…
Washington Examiner
Most ‘swamp’ managers say voters don’t matter
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s experts on regulation decisions Clyde Wayne Crews, the regulation expert at the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
The social significance of the Consolidated Audit Trail
Personal privacy is important. The ability of citizens to communicate and do business with one another – and to do so with some degree…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. and Ryan Young: America’s regulatory burden cost your family almost $16,000 a year
Most American families spend more on regulatory compliance than they do on food, education, or any other expense besides housing. From zoning and permit…
The Virginian-Pilot
Column: Reducing regulations assists American families and the economy
Most American families spend more on regulatory compliance than they do on food, education or any other expense besides housing, according to a new…
C-SPAN
Washington Journal discuss 10kc and Biden’s regulatory legacy
David Becker of Center for Election Innovation & Research discusses efforts to increase voter confidence in U.S. elections and Wayne Crews from the Competitive…
The Daily Signal
Biden Admin Regulations Cost US Households More Than $15,000 a Year, Report Says
The Daily Signal cited CEI on the Ten Thousand Commandments Households pay an average of $15,788 in hidden regulatory…
National Review
Where to Begin with Regulatory Reform
National Review cited CEI on 10 Thousand Commandments report utting federal regulations can feel a little bit like being a mosquito in a nudist…
Washington Examiner
Regulations cost families $15,000, Biden-Harris swamp plans more
Washington Examiner cited CEI on 10KC regulatory reform As bad as those costs seem, they are likely much higher because the administration…
News Release
‘Ten Thousand Commandments’ report on federal regulation exposes Washington’s big costs, little accountability
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released its annual report on the federal regulatory state, Ten Thousand Commandments by Clyde Wayne Crews.
Products
Chapter 5: Regulatory dark matter: Executive orders and memoranda
Although executive actions ostensibly deal with the internal operations of the federal government, they increasingly can have binding effect and influence private behavior. Executive orders,…
Products
Chapter 6: More than 22,000 agency public notices annually
Along with the few dozen presidential memoranda and other proclamations are the thousands that issue from departments and agencies. Through various species of guidance documents,…
Products
Chapter 13: Needed: An agenda for rightsizing Washington
Rule counts regularly topped 4,000 in the 1990s. That is the wrong comparison for Biden’s lower rule counts. His fewer rules have higher costs, are…
Products
Chapter 4: The expanding Code of Federal Regulations
The page count in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)—where the Federal Register’s rules come to rest in small print in bound volumes of magenta,…
Products
Chapter 7: A note on rule reviews at OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Yesterday’s rule review, where the review authority sought to restrain government intervention and minimize costs, is different from today’s rule review. Now the would-be overseer…
Products
Chapter 12: The 2024 Unconstitutionality Index: 44 rules for every law
Article I of the Constitution notwithstanding, administrative agencies rather than Congress do most of the lawmaking in the United States. Congress enacts weighty legislation but…
Products
Chapter 10: Federal regulations affecting state and local governments
State and local officials’ concerns over federal mandates’ overriding their own priorities and prerogatives resulted in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, the requirements…
Products
Chapter 11: Government Accountability Office database on rules and major rules
The federal government’s regulatory reports and databases serve different purposes. The Federal Register presents all proposed and final rules affecting the private sector, as well…
Products
Chapter 2: Why we need a regulatory budget
Well before Biden’s unique transformations, policymakers recognized a role for regulatory restraint, transparency, and disclosure. Federal programs are funded either by taxes or by borrowing,…
Products
Chapter 8: The “Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions”
Along with the Report to Congress, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations, another vehicle for regulatory disclosure is the spring and fall editions of…
Products
Chapter 9: Federal regulations affecting small business
The aforementioned National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) report found that average annual per-employee regulatory costs to firms vary by firm size in a way that…
Products
Chapter 3: Page counts and numbers of rules in the Federal Register
The Federal Register is the daily repository of all proposed and final federal rules and regulations. Although its number of pages is often cited as…
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments 2024
The hidden tax of regulation has proved appealing to lawmakers who feel the pressure of a national debt topping $34 trillion. Off-budget regulations requiring…
Products
Chapter 1: Biden’s whole-of-government regulatory philosophy
Prior editions of Ten Thousand Commandments extensively surveyed the Biden administration’s whole-of-government campaigns and the role of executive actions, rules, and memoranda in their pursuit.
National Review
Does Capitalism Really Need ‘Changing’?
In her influential book Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that capitalism is in…
Blog
Congress in a post-Chevron world
The House Committee on Administration conducted a regulatory reform hearing today entitled “Congress in a Post-Chevron World.” The title refers to the anticipated…
Testimony
Wayne Crews testimony before the Committee on House Administration: “Congress in a Post-Chevron World”
Introduction Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Morelle, and Members of the House Committee on Administration, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on issues…
The Wall Street Journal
The Trump Economy, Past and Future
The Washington Examiner cites Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies Wayne Crews on deregulation and the Federal Register: The Trump deregulation may…
Blog
How major rules are surging under the Biden administration
We’ve taken a look at the total numbers of significant regulations issued this year in the Biden administration as well as at the…
Blog
Anticipating post-Chevron federal power moves
In a series of landmark rulings just before Independence Day (SEC v. Jarkesy, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board…
Blog
Takeaways from Biden’s new Spring 2024 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations
At the end of the July 4th holiday weekend, the Biden administration Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Spring 2024 edition of…
Blog
Reflecting on independence: More than fireworks and barbecues
As we enjoy barbecues, fireworks, and parades on the Fourth of July, we also reflect upon the deeper significance of our nation’s Independence Day…
News Release
Supreme Court Ends Chevron Doctrine that Favored Regulatory Agencies in Court
The U.S. Supreme Court today overruled itself on a longstanding, controversial doctrine that gave regulatory agencies an unfair advantage in court – the so-called…
Blog
Can moderators ask debate questions that don’t presume a progressive policy agenda?
Numerous policy issues are shaping this year’s first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the entire campaign atmosphere. These…
Blog
Biden-era unfunded and funded mandates alike are co-opting state and local priorities
Policymakers are increasingly aware of the federal red tape burden on small businesses, but they should also recognize its emergent implications for state…
Blog
Congress should heed GAO’s new regulatory reform recommendations
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a December 2023 report titled “Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of…
Blog
The end of the ‘economically significant’ rule
Friends and allies in the liberty movement still often refer to high-cost regulations from the Biden administration as “economically significant” rules.
Blog
The federal government’s shift toward controlling small business
Recent proclamations by the Biden administration have revealed a worrying shift in the federal government’s attitude toward America’s small businesses. In a new…
Forbes
Small Business, Big Government Intervention
Certain official proclamations in recent weeks have highlighted an unnerving shift in the federal government’s relationship with America’s small businesses. This novel stance undermines…
Blog
New bill would increase spending transparency, more regulatory transparency needed
Galileo may not have uttered the famous words, “Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so,” but the sentiment behind that…
Washington Examiner
Buzz: Household debt to Feds $815,788; Trump-Levin share well-done steaks
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in Washington Examiner on the per-household debt burden: Our friend Clyde Wayne Crews, the regulations expert at the Competitive…
Washington Examiner
Biden floods the swamp with record tally of regulations
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in the Washington Examiner on an influx of regulations: Meanwhile the regulations czar at the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Navigating the maze of federal regulations in 2024: What to know
In a bureaucratic whirlwind, the 2024 Federal Register is attaining new heights, topping 41,000 pages today. An unsettling new norm for the past few…
Forbes
Confronting A Surge In Costly Federal Rules
As of Monday, May 13, there have been 1,148 rules and regulations finalized among the 41,830 pages published to date in the 2024 Federal Register.
Washington Examiner
Trump and GOP would seek to unravel administrative state after years of Biden-era rulemaking
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in the Washington Examiner on unraveling the administrative state: “They’ve got to flood the zone,” said Wayne…
Brownstone Institute
The Four Sins of ‘Thawteffery’
CEI’s Wayne Crews Ten Thousand Commandments was cited by the Brownstone Institute in an article: Such coercion stands behind the tax revenue,…
Blog
Subsidy-free capitalism may require a constitutional amendment
Automobiles, electrification, ample consumer goods and mass marketing, a construction boom, and access to credit helped fuel the Roaring Twenties of a century…
Blog
The vital role of private conservation: A different perspective on Earth Day
Amidst the jubilation over government-led environmental initiatives on yet another Earth Day yesterday, it’s crucial to highlight a perspective too often overlooked: private conservation,…
Forbes
There Is No Earth Day Without Private Conservation
Today is Earth Day, and NPR and the rest of the media are celebrating government and its environmental laws such as the…
Blog
The eventual federal regulatory budget has bipartisan roots
With apologies to Margaret Thatcher, I’ll often joke that when the federal government runs out of other people’s money, it keeps spending anyway. The…
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter in Support of the Renewing Efficiency in Government by Budgeting Act
Blog
New lunar time zones reinforce importance of keeping regulators earthbound
Maybe when actually applied to the blackness of space, regulatory dark matter can be a good thing. Joe Biden this week directed NASA…
Blog
This model AI legislation would regulate government instead of the private sector
Brand new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget governing uses of artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the federal government was issued last…
Forbes
Model Legislation On Artificial Intelligence To Regulate Government, Not Big Tech
While there’s considerable chatter, Congress seems unlikely to enact legislation regulating artificial intelligence (AI) this election year. The wait can be worth it, though.
Forbes
Libertarian Victory: You Mean We Can Shut Down Government Without Even Passing A Law?
It is happening again. Congress will enact another bloated, pork-laden and largely unread omnibus spending bill to complete formal appropriations for the 2024 fiscal…
E & E News
Murky deadline looms for Biden’s regs
CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews is cited in E & E News on a murkey deadline for Biden regulations: The Biden administration “might not…
Blog
Classifying regulations is now more confusing thanks to Biden administration
Joe Biden’s Modernizing Regulatory Review executive order (E.O. 14094) raised the threshold for a “significant regulatory action” from $100 million to $200 million…
News Release
SCOTUS Hears Troubling Jawboning Cases Involving Big Tech and Government
Today, the Supreme Court heard argument concerning jawboning – government pressuring private entities like social media companies to suppress politically disfavored speech. CEI expert…
Wall Street Journal
Where the Cheering Stopped
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in The Wall Street Journal on the State of the Union address: Budgets Are About PrioritiesWayne Crews writes for…
Blog
One great moment in the budget battles: GOP’s ‘Policy Statement on Deregulation’
Today marks the release of the White House’s $7.3 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, even as policymakers continue their wrangling over…
Blog
SOTU 2024: Unparalleled spending, regulation, and dependency
In bumper-sticker fashion, we have fondly summed up Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union Addresses (SOTU) as appeals for more spending, regulation…
Blog
Where do regulations go when Congress shutters an agency?
The way the federal government spends money rarely changes until a crisis comes along. Arguably, we’re already there with federal debt service (interest) payments…
Blog
Worried about massive federal debt? Time to right-size the regulators
In the annals of federal bloat, a milestone is looming as noted in another post last week: 2024 interest payments on America’s $34…
Forbes
The GAO Weighs In On Regulatory Reform Options For Congress
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) December 2023 Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal Counsel ought not be overlooked by…
Blog
Today’s federal spending makes the Louisiana Purchase look like pocket change
The week of Presidents’ Day 2024 comes at a lull before contentious budget battles resume in early March. It is thus an opportune…
Forbes
Spiraling Debt Demands Bipartisan Mobilization To Terminate Federal Departments And Agencies
In a federal government seemingly incapable of sticking to the necessary and proper, 2024 interest payments on debt topping $34 trillion are set to surpass defense spending as well…
Blog
Red tape? More like chains, thanks to deficit spending and subsidies
Federal subsidies and grants are infamous for having strings attached. That’s nothing new, but those strings are increasingly chains. Businesses are being seduced…
Blog
Attention regulators: Be on the lookout for the ALERT Act
It has been almost a quarter-century since the federal government performed an assessment of the aggregate costs of regulation of regulatory intervention. Late last…
News Release
House Oversight and Accountability Committee advances pro-transparency ALERT Act
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee today advanced H.R. 262, the All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act sponsored by Rep. Bob Good…
Blog
Use the Congressional Review Act to strike rules not reported to Congress and GAO
Significant attention is likely to turn to Joe Biden’s ambitious regulatory agenda before summertime. That’s because rules the administration finalizes “late”—during the last…
Blog
Congress could revoke many costly Biden admin rules with Congressional Review Act. Here’s a list!
Until April of 2023, a federal rule costing $100 million was considered “economically significant.” Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) raised…
Blog
Unconstitutionality Index going into 2024: 46 rules for every law
The Biden’s administration’s 3,018 rules and regulations of 2023 is fairly typical of agency output these days. But while rule counts remain relatively…
Washington Examiner
Swamp dishes most regulations in nearly three decades
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in the Washington Examiner about an uptick in regulations out of Washington D.C.: “The upshot here is…
Blog
Federal Register 2023 gives Congress 90,402 reasons to restrain the regulators
As we bid farewell to 2023 and ring in 2024, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden…
Blog
American small businesses are paying through the roof for regulations
In a new column at Forbes, I take look at the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) update of its …
Washington Examiner
Swamp’s hidden regulations cost $50,000 per employee, lost investment
CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews is cited on Washington Examiner about hidden regulation cost: “The choices made 100 years ago in creating and erecting…
E&E
Want to talk rules? The White House just made it easier.
Wayne Crews is cited on E&E about government rule making: Wayne Crews, a fellow in regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…