The week in regulations: Fusion machines and suspicious health care

President Trump launched a preemptive war with Iran, leading many to question the true worth of the FIFA Peace Prize. The 2026 Federal Register topped 10,000 pages on March 2. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from concrete masonry promotion to textile mill subsidies.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 49 new regulations last week.
• This is equivalent to one new regulation every three hours and 26 minutes.
• Agencies have issued 408 final regulations so far in 2026.
• At this pace, agencies will issue 2,615 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 62 new proposed regulations last week.
• With 272 proposed regulations so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 1,744 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,498 proposed regulations in 2025, 1,769 in 2024, and 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023.
• Agencies issued 430 notices last week.
• With 3.261 notices so far in 2026, agencies are on pace to issue 20,904 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 19,820 notices in 2025, 25,506 in 2024, and 22,902 in 2023.
• There were 1,615 Federal Register pages last week.
• With 9,976 pages so far, the 2026 Federal Register is on pace for 63,949 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.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2026 contains 256 pages.
• Rules with $200 million or more of economic effects in at least one year qualify as major under Section 3(f)(1). This replaced the former economically significant tag for $100 million-plus regulations.
• However, the $100 million economically significant tag is now revived under a Trump executive order, and the $200 million 3(f)(1) tag is going away. We will likely see rules from both categories this year.
• There are four 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulation so far in 2026, with two in the last week.
• This is on pace for 26 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2026.
• For comparison, there were 17 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025, 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.
• The estimated combined cost of 2026’s 3(f)(1) or economically significant rules ranges from net savings of $908 billion to net savings of $101 billion.
• For context, the cost tally for 2025’s 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations ranged from net costs of $219 million to $1.64 billion. 2024’s estimate is net savings of $16.42 billion to $26.45 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were seven final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant.”
• So far this year, 42 new final regulations meet the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 269 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, 89 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 571. Seven of them are significant, on pace for 45 for the year.
• 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, 79 of them significant.

Highlights from last week’s new final regulations:

• Concrete masonry research, education, and promotion.
• Extended deadline for greenhouse gas reporting.
• Reauthorized dairy price controls.
• The NLRB is withdrawing its joint employer rule.
• Education Department guidance for accrediting.
• PFAS reporting.
• VA rules for evaluating medication effectiveness.
• Immigration appeals.
• HUD rules for evicting tenants who don’t pay rent.
• Two population segments of the lesser -prairie-chicken are being removed from the Endangered Species List.
• EPA land-use restrictions in Oklahoma.
• NEPA implementing regulations.
• FERC is removing some construction-blocking regulations.
• Farm subsidies for textile mills.
• The EPA issued the final repeal for its MATS rule for coal- and oil-fired power plants.
• HHS rules for opioid use disorder medications.
• Mackerel specifications.
• Farm subsidies from the Commodity Credit Corporation.

And from last week’s proposed regulations:

• A mandatory manufacturing cost survey from the Agricultural Marketing Service.
• Boiler pressure.
• Suspicious health care.
• Rules for employee and independent contractor status.
• Permanent capital revisions for farm credit.
• Noncommercial FM translator stations.
• Endangered species status review for the lesser prairie-chicken.
• Worker safety for nuclear reactor testing.
• Regulatory framework for fusion machines.
• Removing the Geocarpon minimum from the Endangered Species List.
• Prevailing wages in the Baltimore-Arlington-Washington area.
• Private health insurance transparency.
• Statutory liens for credit unions.
• Credit union service contracts.
• Credit union interest refunds.
• Board member training at the National Credit Union Administration.
• Now that it’s 2026, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is requiring paper statements in certain cases.
• Marine mammal casualties from geophysical surveys in the Gulf of Mexico.
• EPA citizen suits.
• Employment authorization for asylum applicants.
• Age search service fees.

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