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Sneaky Regulation? Federal Agencies Issue over 24,000 “Public Notices” Annually
A mixed economy like ours does not remain static. Economic activity increasingly shifts toward government outright (health care, retirement, education) or exists under "Mother-May-I" constraints…
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New Data: Code of Federal Regulations Expanding, Faster Pace under Obama
The annual Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the "codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 11: Sunset Regulations and Implement a “One In, One Out” Procedure
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 10: Congress Should Create an Annual Regulatory Reduction Commission
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 9: Congress Must Affirm Final Agency Rules before They Are Law
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 8: Create a Culture of Repealing Regulations
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Here Are the Obama Administration’s 191 Big-Dollar “Economically Significant” Rules and Regulations
If you pay any attention to the debate over federal regulation (there are at least three or four of you), you inevitably hear about "economically…
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Obama Major Regulations 29 Percent Higher Than Bush
The 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) requires agencies to submit reports to Congress on their major rules — frequently defined as those costing $100 million…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 7: Recognize and Reduce Indirect Costs of Regulation
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 6: Deal with the Deadweight Cost of Regulation
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 5: Categorize Regulations by Impact
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 4: Put a Spotlight on Economically Significant Rules
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 3: Make Regulations Transparent Like the Budget
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 2: Regulatory Benefits? Maybe Not
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated “Energy in the Executive.” But President Obama’s 2014 agenda framed by his State of…
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Reining in the Executive Branch Bureaucracy, Part 1: Measure Regulatory Costs
Since the Federalist Papers, America has debated "Energy in the Executive." But President Obama's 2014 agenda framed by his State of…
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Budget Deal Agreement and State of the Union Address Continue to Neglect Debt and Economy
In the lead-up to the State of the Union...a briefing theme was that President Barack Obama has little appetite for a debt reduction deal and…
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Is FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for or against Net Neutrality? Yes
In what the Washington Post referred to as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's strongest endorsement yet of net neutrality, he said: Public policy…
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CEI’s 2014 Unconstitutionality Index: 56 Regulations for Every Law
Every now and then one sees a cute article like this Los Angeles Times piece lamenting that Congress is "ineffective" because…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 5: When Regulation Tramples Health and Safety
Act surprised...Show concern...Deny...Deny...Deny. —Anonymous What if anybody in power ever actually paid attention to the body count of federal regulation? We just finished another year…
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2013 Ends with an 80,330-Page Federal Register and 3,659 Final Rules and Regulations
The Federal Register wrapped up 2013 with a third-highest count ever, of 80,330 pages. (The published version contains 80,462 pages but I net out blank…
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A New Year of Regulation: Obama’s Record-Setting Federal Register
[caption id="attachment_72593" align="alignleft" width="168"] Duly Enacted Laws vs. Unaccountable Regulation. The Federal Register runs wild. The federal government spends heavily; it also regulates heavily.[/caption] The Federal…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 4: The Costs of Poor Regulatory Sausage Making
In the first installment of “Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs,” the focus was the loss of liberty in…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 3: The Costs of Regulatory Benefits
In the first installment of "Cataloging Washington's Hidden Costs," the topic was loss of liberty; in…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs, Part 2: The Unmeasured Impacts of Economic Intervention
Back in Part 1 of Cataloging Washington's Hidden Costs, the topic was the incalculable cost of the loss of liberty in…
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The Federal Register Is about to Top 70,000 Pages — And it’s Not Even December
This morning, the Federal Register stood at 68,980 pages. It’s the daily depository of all federal regulations proposed and final. It is our unfortunate Principia Regulatica.
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Obama Allows Illegal Health Policies, Quickly Pivots to Economy
The furor over the Healthcare.gov website that is merely supposed to automate the process of determining if one is eligible or…
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Antitrust as Corporate Welfare: Imposed Concessions and Conditions on Mergers Are a Fundamental Error
As is now commonplace, American Airlines needed to relent to conditions imposed on the merger with US Airways to secure Department of Justice approval, primarily…
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Why Obama’s Pivot from Obamacare to Infrastructure Makes No Sense
President Obama is in New Orleans today to pivot attention to what he’ll call leveraging investment in infrastructure. From the ones and zeros of the…
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Cataloging Washington’s Hidden Costs: Part 1: The Loss of Liberty
Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so. —Quote frequently attributed to Galileo that he probably never said. Washington is teeing up…
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Are California Droughts Natural or Man Made?
A ongoing battle in court and public opinion rages in California over the environmental status of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (both rivers meet, and…
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Executive Branch Review of Federal Regulations — Still Highly Incomplete
In the 2014 fiscal budget proposal, the White House praised regulation of auto safety, energy efficiency and credit cards, and claimed, "…
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Congress to Mark Up Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Bill
The Regulatory Flexibility Act directs federal agencies to assess the effects of their rules on small businesses. How’s that going? A new book…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 15): Can We Please End This. Please.
Today, Monday, September 9, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 14): What Should Congress Do?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 13): What FCC Should Do Now
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 12): Why Net Neutrality Threatens Homeland Security and Cybersecurity
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 11): The Inappropriateness of Compulsory Transparency
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 10): Who’s Discriminating Online?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 9): How to Expand Consumer Choice and Access to Content
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 8): The Essential Elements of Non-Destructive Rulemaking
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 7): Mandatory Dumb Pipes? But Why Sacrifice Genius?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 6): Does “Market Failure” Demand Neutrality Regulation?
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 5): The Fallacies Motivating Net Neutrality
(Note: On September 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 4): FCC Order Creates Political Vulnerability for All Market Participants
(Note: On Septe. 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s challenge of the…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 3): The FCC’s Disdain for Markets
(Note: On September 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World (Part 2): An Alternative Case for Agency Neutrality
(Note: On Sept. 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon’s…
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Before Net Neutrality Eats the World, Part 1: Net Neutrality vs. Infrastructure Wealth
On September 9, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in Verizon's…
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How to Have Enough Water for Everybody
Last week I testified in the Water and Power Subcommittee in the House of Representatives (hearing linked…
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Costs Rise In Obama’s New 2013 Draft Report To Congress On The Benefits And Costs Of Federal Regulations
Last year, the Obama Office of Management and Budget’s 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal…
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State Of The Union? Try “Over-Regulated”
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama cannot be expected to pledge to roll back government in any manner whatsoever, a…
