There are two main areas in which Congress can enact meaningful reform. The first is to rein in regulatory guidance documents, which we refer to as “regulatory dark matter,” whereby agencies regulate through Federal Register notices, guidance documents, and other means outside standard rulemaking procedure. The second is to enact a series of reforms to increase agency transparency and accountability of all regulation and guidance. These include annual regulatory report cards for rulemaking agencies and regulatory cost estimates from the Office of Management and Budget for more than just a small subset of rules.
In 2019, President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at stopping the practice of agencies using guidance documents to effectively implement policy without going through the legally required notice and comment process.
Featured Posts
Blog
The week in regulations: School libraries and sport pilots
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Congress passed a Russia sanctions bill that gives President Trump more tariff authority. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The Overton Window with James Hohman
In this week’s episode we cover Treasury yields, oil prices, US-China-Taiwan security policy, and Trump’s $5,000 dividend checks. Our…
Blog
How The No Surprises Act worsened the problem of surprise bills
Next week, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) will convene a roundtable to discuss adjustments to the 2020 No Surprises Act, which has come under…
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5 Absurd Product Bans
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Economic Stimulus
Op-Eds
Less is More
Wayne Crews tells us that while we need control of the fiscal state–but just as badly we need to rein in the regulatory state.
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the Possibility of a Recession
Op-Eds
Freedom and its Digital Discontents
John Berlau, director of CEI's Center for Entrepreneurship, debates Sarbanes-Oxley in the Economist…
Citation
Dumb Product Bans
Study
First Steps toward Restoring Florida’s Insurance Market
Full Document Available in PDF As Florida’s Legislature proceeds with its…
Newsletter
Banned Products, Hybrid Cars and Discrimination Lawsuits
Issues in the News 1. POLITICS Virginia residents object to a law banning the sale of sangria, even in…
Newsletter
The Supreme Court, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Bernanke on the Economy
The Supreme Court-- pro business?…
Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
This paper focuses on five clearly absurd product bans that seem to serve no social good.
News Release
Economic “Stimulus” Policies Trapped in the Past
Washington, D.C., February 21, 2008 — The economic stimulus package recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush will do little to improve…
Study
Still Stimulating Like It’s 1999
Full Document Available in PDF Facing an economic…
News Release
Stimulus Package Not the Path to Economic Recovery
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., February 14, 2008—This week President Bush signed a $168 billion economic stimulus package. Unfortunately for…
News Release
Bush Budget Ignores Hidden Costs
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., February 4, 2008—The White House has released President Bush’s budget for the federal government,…
Op-Eds
Comcast in the Crosshairs
Despite Comcast's ascendancy, the cable provider remains vulnerable - yet its greatest threat is not from Baby-Bell competitors but from lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
Op-Eds
Romney Had a Hammer
Mitt Romney’s surprisingly decisive victory in Michigan kept him in the race for the Republican nomination, but he wasn’t the only one Tuesday night…
Study
Regulatory Competition: A Primer
Full Document Available in PDF Government regulation is often perceived as a good way to…
Op-Eds
Opposing view: Plan Hurts Future Borrowers
The government sure has a funny prescription for restoring confidence in America's credit markets. It purports to solve the nation's credit crunch — a…
Study
The Credit Union Regulatory Improvement Act
Full Document Available in PDF This paper provides a free market perspective on…
News Release
New Video: Cheers to Repeal Day!
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network is releasing a new video just in time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH New drug approvals by the Food and Drug Administration decline dramatically. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar…
News Release
Congress Moves to Restrict Access to Home Loans
Washington, D.C., November 15, 2007—Today the U.S. House of Representatives will likely pass a new law that would limit access to home mortgages in…
Op-Eds
This just in
Mark Allen’s "FCC should face reality" [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC’s media-ownership rules. One not…
Op-Eds
The Subprime FHA
After two months of economic jitters over bad lending decisions, it looks as if the credit markets may have turned a corner. The stock…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TECHNOLOGY Cities across the country cancel…
News Release
Credit Union Deregulation Could Help Small Businesses
Washington, D.C., September 19, 2007—If Congress moves to de-regulate credit union business lending, it would help some selected categories of small businesses, according to…
Op-Eds
Bush’s Credit Issues
In the midst of what’s called the subprime mortgage “contagion,” President Bush seems to have caught a virus of his own: Potomac paternalism syndrome.
News Release
Will Overregulation Kill Land Line Telephones?
Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., September 6, 2007—Americans are ditching their land line phones for cell phones in favor of mobile…
Newsletter
Issues in the News<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> 1. HEALTH AND SAFETY A recent…
News Release
Environmental Regulation, Laws Grow Unchecked
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Christine Hall, 202.331.2258…
Study
The Green Regulatory State
Full Document Available in PDF Over the years, the environmental lobby has advanced a considerable…
News Release
Flood Insurance Stymied by Federal Government
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Christine…
Op-Eds
CEOs, Like Athletes, Compensated For Their Successful Performances
I am by no means a sports fanatic, but there are times I wish that typical business stories would be more like sports…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. FINANCE Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress on the alleged abuse of “subprime” loans. …
News Release
New Study Charts the Growth of Environmental Law
Washington, D.C., July 17, 2007—According to a new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the conventional idea that progressive environmental causes suffer under conservative…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH California officials issue a West Nile virus public health alert. CEI Expert Available to Comment:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ECONOMICS The federal budget deficit drops to $205 billion…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Environment Al Gore’s “Live Earth” concert series will host a previously cancelled performance this…
News Release
Stringent Government Rules Can Turn Deadly
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments 2007
Executive Summary…
Study
The Flexibility Solution
Full Document Available in PDF America has not done enough to protect the networks of…
Op-Eds
Washington’s Ten Thousand Commandments
Congress is currently considering the president's proposed $2.9 trillion federal budget. While federal spending consumes an awesome 20% of nation's GDP, the budget process at…
Newsletter
Cooler Heads Digest
1. The Week in Global Warming News 2. CEI's Insider Information 3. Issue of the Week: Appliance Efficiency Standards4.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1.Legal The Supreme Court rules against Philip Morris as part of an on-going legal fight…
Study
Will Repealing the Federal Insurance Antitrust Exemption Help Or Hurt Consumers?
Full Document Available in PDF If…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL Al Gore emerges as the leading contender to win the next Nobel…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONSUMER The Washington Post reports on CEI’s campaign to protest substandard appliances resulting from energy efficiency mandates. 2.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY Oil giant BP shuts down a quarter of its Alaskan production due to…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONSUMER CEI launches a campaign to protest substandard appliances resulting from energy efficiency…
News Release
Federal Efficiency Rules Ruin Washing Machines
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007—New findings by Consumer Reports on washing machines demonstrate that their performance…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment