The week in regulations: Drug prices and inedible almonds

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) learned the difference between the Atlanta Hawks and the Iowa Hawkeyes. President Trump rolled back some China tariffs and published Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) cell phone number. GDP revisions released on Wednesday looked good, though Friday’s jobs numbers did not. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from invalid transportation specimens to mariner training.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 78 new final regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new final regulation every two hours and nine minutes.
• Agencies have issued 2,269 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,986 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 2,441 final regulations in 2025, 3,248 in 2024, and 3,018 in 2023.
• Agencies issued 24 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 1,372 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,805 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,498 proposed regulations in 2025, 1,769 in 2024, and 2,102 in 2023.
• Agencies issued 433 notices last week.
• With 15,945 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 20,980 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 2,017 new Federal Register pages last week.
• With 63,132 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace to reach 83,068 pages.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 332 pages.
• For comparison, the 2025 Federal Register had 61,461 pages, and 2024 had an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition had 90,402 pages.
• Rules with annual economic effects of $100 million or more in at least one year qualify as economically significant.
• During the Biden administration, this category was temporarily scrapped and replaced with a $200 million annual threshold for being called significant under Section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866 as amended.
• A 2025 Trump executive order scrapped the $200 million 3(f)(1) threshold and revived the $100 million economically significant category. Because of the length of time the rulemaking process takes, rules under both thresholds are still appearing.
• So far in 2026, there are 24 new regulations that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant. Two such regulations appeared in the previous week.
• This pace will yield 32 new regulations in 2026 that are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant.
• For comparison, there were 17 new regulations in 2025 that were either 3(f)(1) or economically significant, 20 in 2024, and 28 in 2023. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
• Regulations that are new in 2026 and are either 3(f)(1) or economically significant are estimated to produce somewhere between net annual savings of $933 billion and net costs of $106 billion.
• For context, 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025 had estimated net annual costs of $219 million to $1.64 billion. The figures for 2024 are net annual savings of $16.42 billion to $26.45 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• In the past week there were four final regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
• So far this year, 167 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This pace will yield 220 significant final regulations in 2026.
• For comparison, there were 155 such regulations in 2025, 339 in 2024, and 290 in 2023.
• So far in 2026, 481 new regulations affect small businesses, making a yearly pace of 633. Twenty of them are significant, making a yearly pace of 26.
• For comparison, in 2025 there were 597 regulations affecting small businesses, 30 of them significant. In 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 106 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Single-pilot training for Cessna aircraft.
• Ocean dredging off of Corpus Christi, Texas.
• Housing subsidies.
• Drug prices.
• Quorum rules for SEC commissioners.
• Stress capital buffers.
• The FCC is reducing barriers to network improvements.
• The Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP.
• EPA rules for nitrous oxide emissions from large stationary internal combustion engines.
• Arms trafficking to Syria.
• Classification for flushing and storage solution for vascular autografts at room temperature.
• Bank reserve requirements.
• IRS rules for Trump accounts.
• Fees for EB-5 visas.
• Russia sanctions.
• Venezuela sanctions.
• More Venezuela sanctions.
• Even more Venezuela sanctions.
• Iran sanctions.
• More Iran sanctions.
• Cuba sanctions.
• Cuban assets control regulations.
• The Stablecoin Certification Review Committee.
• Fuel economy rules for cars from model years 2022-2031.
• The Education Department is recodifying Title IX rules.
• Deadline for disposing of inedible almonds.
• The SBA is removing constitutional concerns from its programs.

Highlights from last week’s proposed regulations:

• A correction to the Maritime Administration’s recent Capital Construction Fund program revision.
• The EPA is reconsidering emission standards for gasoline distribution facilities.
• IRS rules for a federal scholarship tax credit.
• Off-roading in Big Cypress National Preserve.
• Transportation Department rules for invalid specimens.
• FTC rules for impersonating governments and businesses.
• Migratory birds.
• Mariner training requirements.
• Malik Tony Singleton.
• IRS rules for Trump accounts.
• IRS rules for paying farmland property gains taxes in installments.
• GENIUS Act rules for the Federal Reserve.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter. See also CEI’s Agenda for Congress.