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
This week in ridiculous regulations: airline fees and greenhouse gas reporting
The Federal Register grew at nearly triple its usual pace last week. It is on pace for its first-ever 100,000-page year. GDP growth slowed to…
The Center Square
Study: Mixed record on permitting reform offers some hope
CEI’s James Broughel provided comments to The Center Square about a study he authored: “Pennsylvania’s a state where energy is very important to its…
Forbes
Libertarian Victory: You Mean We Can Shut Down Government Without Even Passing A Law?
It is happening again. Congress will enact another bloated, pork-laden and largely unread omnibus spending bill to complete formal appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year…
Search Posts
Forbes
Warning Signs: Will Federal Agencies Derail Trump’s 2-for 1 Deregulatory Agenda?
In mid-December, the Trump administration touted success exceeding its one-in, two-out regulatory goals for managing on-the-books regulations, achieving instead a one-in, 22-out ratio. These goals had…
Fox News
Trump’s Tax Bill and Regulatory Reform Will Spark an Economic Boom, Benefiting All Americans
Writing for Fox News, Chuck Devore cites 10,000 Commandments. Historic tax cut legislation that President Trump signed into law Friday will give us the chance to…
The Wall Street Journal
The Great Rules Rollback
The Wall Street Journal covers deregulation under the Trump administration. Amid the debate over tweets and tax reform, perhaps the most significant change brought…
Bloomberg Politics
Trump Stretches Meaning of Deregulation in Touting Achievements
Bloomberg Politics discusses deregulation with Wayne Crews. One is a federal rule, initiated by former President Barack Obama, that removed Yellowstone’s grizzlies from the list…
The Hill
Conservatives Packed 2017 with Victories — Push 2018 Even Further
Writing for The Hill, Carrie Sheffield cites 10,000 Commandments. With a wild 2017 behind us, conservatives looking to 2018 face typical electoral headwinds for a midterm…
The Washington Examiner
Trump Regulatory ‘Red Tape’ Lowest in a Quarter Century, 35% Below Obama’s
The Washington Examiner covers deregulation under the Trump administration. Adding to his administration’s success in cutting Obama era regulations, President Trump also issued the…
The Wall Street Journal
Rookie of the Year
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, James Freeman cites Wayne Crews’ tally of Federal Register pages. Donald Trump is not the most dignified man to…
Lifezette
Trump’s Anti-Red Tape Effort Shows Biggest Drop in New Edicts Since 1993
Lifezette cited Clyde Wayne Crews on his new book and the impact of President Trump’s anti-regulatory campaign on the nation’s economy. Government agencies…
Blog
Trump Regulations: Federal Register Page Count Is Lowest In Quarter Century
Today, Friday, December 29, 2017, is the last federal workday of the year. This presents an opportunity to round up all rules and regulations produced…
Blog
So, What Regulations Did Trump Eliminate?
President Donald Trump has made much news over slowing down the flow of regulations in 2017, and over new promises to reduce even more…
Forbes
Trump’s New 2018 Deregulatory Agenda
Just in time for Christmas, the Trump administration released the Fall 2018 edition of the twice-yearly Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda…
Blog
Sugarplums or Lumps of Coal? The White House’s 140 Economically Significant Rules
In the White House’s new "Unified Agenda," the administration touts success in surpassing President Trump’s goal to eliminate two regulations for every one adopted.
Investor's Business Daily
Trump’s Deregulation Binge
Investor’s Business Daily covers President Trump’s regulatory reform efforts. With all that was going on last week, maybe you missed this: President Trump has…
Blog
Trump Reviews and Renews Regulatory Rollback Agenda
On December 14, President Trump outlined his administration’s deregulatory achievements to date and regulatory reform goals for 2018. He emphasized the importance of cutting…
Wall Street Journal
Dow 24000 and the Trump Boom
Maria Bartiromo, writing for Wall Street Journal, cites 10,000 Commandments. I’m not in the habit of giving stock tips or making market calls. I’ve never…
Blog
Trump’s New Regulatory Reform Agenda – By the Numbers
Today the Trump administration released the Fall 2017 edition of the twice-yearly Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, accompanied…
USA Today
No, the Internet Is Not About to Be Destroyed
The headlines regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming vote on “net neutrality” regulations suggest impending doom. “FCC Is Revving Up to Destroy the Internet…
Blog
President’s Fall Policy Update
We have measures and very clear guideposts to tell us if we are on the right path.
RealClear Policy
Why Government Grows Despite the Constitution
Nearly every administration since Reagan has pledged to reduce the size of the bureaucracy or increase government efficiency, but they have all missed the low…
Blog
Senate Bill’s Stealth FIFO Capital Gains Hike Hinders Tax Reform
It’s crunch time on tax reform! The House passed a bill just before Thanksgiving. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. A good tax reform bill would…
The New York Times
Net Neutrality Hits a Nerve, Eliciting Intense Reactions
The New York Times covers the proposed rollback of Net Neutrality regulations. It usually doesn’t take much to get people on the internet worked…
Bloomberg View
Trump Deserves Some Credit for the Rally in Stocks
A. Gary Shilling, writing for Bloomberg View cites Wayne Crews’ “10,000 Commandments.” Reducing government regulation is tough. It’s resisted by all those who benefit, including…
Fox News
Trump’s Assault on the Administrative State Will Benefit America
Fox News covers President Trump’s recent regulatory rollbacks. Occurring largely behind the scenes, President Trump’s most significant contribution to a more prosperous America is…
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Under the Radar, Trump, Republicans are in Frontal Assault of Obama-era Regulations
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses the cost of regulations with Wayne Crews. While fights over health care and …
Politico
FCC’s next step on net neutrality: Blocking the states
CEI fellow Jessica Melugin quoted in Politico on the FCC’s next on net neutrality. Some states and cities could still try to impose…
New York Times
Justice Department Sues to Block AT&T-Time Warner Merger
New York Times article discusses the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner Merger Legal experts were divided on the merits…
News Release
CEI Says Pai’s Roll Back of Net Neutrality Regulations is ‘Immediate Victory’ for Transparency and ‘Promising Sign’ for Upcoming Vote
Competitive Enterprise Institute adjunct fellow Jessica Melugin offered a response to the news that the Federal Communications Commission is announcing its plan today…
Medium
A Better World Begins With Better Bureaucracy
Maleka Momand writing for Medium cites Wayne Crews’ “10,000 Commandments.” The U.S. economy loses trillions of dollars every year to regulatory compliance costs, and state…
Blog
Introduction to ‘Reorganizing the Executive Branch’
We’re all sharpening our own vision of how the executive branch can be rationalized, right-sized, streamlined, and otherwise reformed.
Blog
Confessions of a Recovering Bureaucrat
Neither clarity nor efficiency in government has improved in the past eight decades.
Blog
How to Reform the Executive Branch
President Trump’s March 13th executive order “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch” set in motion a process that could yield dramatic changes to how…
The Hill
Credit Trump For Boosting Business And Fueling Our Economic Growth
Andy Puzder, writing in The Hill, cites Wayne Crews’ “10,000 Commandments.” Progressive Democrats are in a tough spot. It is increasingly difficult to ignore that…
InsideSources
Counterpoint: One Year Post-Election: Grate Again, Great Again
It’s now one year since the election of Donald J. Trump as our nation’s president. Is America “great again”? The election certainly did make America…
Forbes
The Significance of Sen. Al Franken’s Call to Impose Net Neutrality on Google, Facebook and Amazon
Antitrust and technology market regulatory interventions are staging a comeback, even in the era of President Donald Trump’s push for broad…
Blog
Experimental Tech Helps Get Puerto Rico’s Telecom Services Back on Line
The freedom to try something without getting explicit and advanced permission from regulators is what allows innovations to be tried, tested, and either integrated or…
Reason
Trump’s Deregulatory ‘Juggernaut’?
Reason cites Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback.” “While the Republican machine that emerged from the 2016 election may be sputtering on other fronts,” The Wall Street…
Forbes
The Internet of Things Wants to Know Where Its 5G Is
A major pledge of the Trump Administration was cutting red tape and boosting America’s infrastructure. Ten months in, there are lots of moving parts to…
The Daily Caller
Trump Continues Successful Deregulatory Blitz with Repeal of CFPB Rule
In an op-ed for The Daily Caller, Edward Woodson cites “10,000 Commandments.” The stock market is booming. Unemployment beneficiary numbers have fallen to a …
National Review
The Criminal-Justice Reform No One’s Talking About
Rafael A. Mangual, writing for National Review, cites Wayne Crews’ “Unconstitutionality Index” when talking about criminal justice reform. In early October, Senate Republicans introduced three bills…
Blog
Ghouls and Goblins and Guidances
You could consider CEI to be the Ghostbusters of Washington, fighting back ghouls and goblins on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Federal Times
Politics Divide Regulatory Reform Efforts
The Federal Times covers the House Oversight Committee’s “Regulatory Reform Task Forces Check-In.” A recent House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing on agency…
Blog
Testimony on Trump’s Executive Orders and Regulatory Task Forces before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives House Oversight and Government Reform Committee conducted a hearing entitled “Regulatory Reform Task Forces Check-In,” to which I…
Comment
Testimony of Wayne Crews on “Regulatory Reform Task Force Check-In”
View Full Document as PDF When policymakers neglect federal regulation, they ignore arguably the greatest element of governmental influence in the United…
Forbes
What Has To Happen For Trump’s Federal Regulatory Budget To Work
Congress is moving forward on the 2018 federal Budget Resolution, and maybe the promised tax system overhaul. Of course, the $4 trillion a year the…
The Daily Signal
EPA Chief Set to Bar Government-Funded Experts From Agency’s Science Panels
The Daily Signal discusses the EPA’s changes to its scientific advisory boards with William Yeatman. Pruitt revealed that he will issue a directive aimed…
Forbes
Donald Trump’s Regulatory Reform Could Be Derailed by Administrative State Jargon
The federal administrative state hummed along for years, relatively unperturbed until Donald Trump implemented a freeze on new costs in January. In the background, though,…
Blog
CEI Calls on EPA to Reconsider More-Stringent Fuel Economy Standards
On Thursday, October 5, the Competitive Enterprise Institute submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its Final Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of greenhouse…
The Washington Examiner
The Media are Missing Trump’s Much-Needed Regulatory Relief
The Washington Examiner covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” For decades, the federal government kept adding regulations without taking any old ones off…
Greenwire
Trump Is Biggest Rule Cutter Since Reagan – CEI Analysis
Greenwire covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” President Trump has shown a strong commitment to deregulation during his first eight months in office,…
The Packer
Trump living up to anti-regulation rhetoric
The Packer cites Senior fellow Clyde Wayne Crews on regulations. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has put some stats together that said the Trump Administration’s has cut…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- 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