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: Mailing live animals and crash test dummy comments
A Trump administration envoy to Russia called Vladimir Putin a humanitarian. The Justice Department announced it will sue if the Republican Senate candidate in…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The Grim Old Days with Chelsea Follett
In this week’s episode we cover global energy security, a new lawsuit against Section 338 tariffs, and fresh talent in…
News Release
CEI challenges Wisconsin’s treatment of election prediction-market contracts
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Wisconsin voter and Green Bay radio host Joseph Giganti, Sr., challenging the…
Search Posts
The Washington Times
Banishing Red Tape: Trump the ‘Least Regulatory President’ Since Reagan, Study Finds
The Washington Times covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.“ “President Trump is the least regulatory president since Ronald Reagan. His administration has only proposed…
News Release
CEI Comments on White House Call to End Social Security Numbers
CEI Vice President Jim Harper commented on the White House’s call for the end of social security numbers in light of the recent Equifax…
The Daily Caller
With the Media Distracted, Trump Quietly Continues Slashing the Number of Regulations
The Daily Caller covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” President Donald Trump has cut the federal regulatory burden to levels that took the…
Investor's Business Daily
Lots Of Presidents Talked About Getting Rid Of Bad Regulations — Trump Is Actually Doing It
Investor’s Business Daily covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” Regulation: Getting rid of unneeded regulations may be the single-most effective spur to economic growth…
Politico
De-Reg Event Prep
Politico’s Morning Money covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Wayne Crews has updated numbers on the Trump administration’s de-regulation…
Reason
Trump at 9 Months: ‘The Least Regulatory President of All’
Reason covers Trump’s regulatory track record and cite’s Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” The most underreported story (except here at Reason!) about President…
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