The number of agency-made rules for every bill passed by Congress last year was…

When you think about the production of laws in the United States, you probably picture something like the Schoolhouse Rock video “How a Bill Becomes a Law,” with congressmen and senators debating legislation and finally sending it to the president to sign. After all, this is how the Constitution lays it out. In reality, most rules that govern our lives aren’t made on Capitol Hill. They’re written by bureaucrats in federal agencies.

In Ten Thousand Commandments, my colleague Wayne Crews has dubbed the ratio of agency rulemaking to laws passed by Congress the Unconstitutionality Index. It’s a simple but revealing ratio, showing just how much policymaking power has shifted away from elected lawmakers and toward unelected bureaucrats.

In 2024, Congress passed 175 bills and regulatory agencies issued a whopping 3,248 final rules: a ratio of 19-1. That makes for an Unconstitutionality Index score of 19. That score is not the highest we’ve seen. In 2023, the Index hit 44, thanks to a particularly low number of laws passed by Congress. Over the last decade, the average has been around 23 rules per law.

Why does it matter? Because agencies don’t answer to voters. The elected members of Congress are supposed to debate, negotiate, and ultimately be held accountable for the laws that they make.

When Congress punts its responsibilities to agencies, it shifts that responsibility over to people who never have to face an election. Over time, that erodes the balance of power the Constitution was designed to protect.