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

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Agenda for Congress: Regulation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are four principles…

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This week in ridiculous regulations: Automatic brakes and horse protection amendments
Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided near Reagan Airport. President Trump issued an Executive Order to stop all federal…

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Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for housing…
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New USTR Discusses Trade Agenda, How U.S. and EU Can Address Divergent Regulatory Regimes
At a forum this morning hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the new U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, discussed the next steps…
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The Rip-Off that Is Occupational Licensing
Occupational licensing rules allow trade schools in some states to force students to attend them, enabling the schools to charge students lots of tuition for…
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Regulating E-Cigarettes Creates the Wrong Incentives
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is gearing up to regulate electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) by early October. These regulations, rather than protecting the public…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
80 new regulations, from turtle-killing to felon financiers.
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More Economic Suffering Due to Obamacare
The Washington Post reports on the ever-growing number of people losing wages and facing pay cuts due to the 2010 healthcare law: For Kevin…
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D.C. Council Bows to UFCW, Votes No on Walmart, Yes to High Prices
Washington, D.C., has some of the highest living costs in the country. Its metro area contains six of the nation’s ten wealthiest counties, making it…
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On Dodd-Frank’s 3rd Anniversary, “North Star” is Further Out of Reach
Over the weekend, President Obama hailed the third anniversary of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank “financial reform.” In his weekly radio address, the president…
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The Government’s Wasteful Obsession with Subsidized Homeownership
The government has spent vast sums of money promoting homeownership through subsidies, tax exemptions, and bailouts. For example, in prosperous Alexandria, Virginia, certain people who…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
68 new regulations, from Topeka shiners to room air conditioners.
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Regulation of the Day 232: Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat
Marty Hahne has put on children's magic shows for almost 30 years. USDA regulations require both a license and a written disaster plan for his…
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The FTC’s Uneasy Relationship With Innovation
The Sherman and Clayton Acts form the backbone of U.S. antitrust policy. But another piece of legislation gives the government the power to regulate business…
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Unions Plead for Changes to Obamacare, Citing Lost Wages and Benefits
The Wall Street Journal reports today that the leaders of three major labor unions are asking Congress to make fundamental changes to Obamacare, saying that without such changes, it will…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
84 new regulations, from apartment building energy usage to when truckers have lunch.
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The Apple E-Book Ruling and Antitrust Absurdity
A recent ruling against Apple over its e-book pricing policies highlights the absurdity of antitrust laws, as I point out in the Daily Caller:…
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CEI Podcast for July 11, 2013: Farm Bill Controversy
Adjunct Fellow Fran Smith breaks down the controversy surrounding this year's farm bill.
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Scientists Warn of Dangers of “Precautionary Science”
Eighteen scientists recently weighed in on the unscientific and dangerous nature of the so-called “precautionary principle” in the July issue of the journal Food…
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Senate Committee Passes ENDA, Which Would Lead to Meritless Litigation and Erode Free Speech
A Senate Committee has voted 15-to-7 to approve the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, "a bill that would prohibit employers from discriminating against workers on the basis…
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SEC Finally Permits Free Speech for Hedge Funds, VCs, and Entrepreneurs
Today is finally the day that the Securities and Exchange Commission -- one year and three months after it was instructed to do so by…
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Regulation Causes Inflation
Over at the American Spectator, I show why an unintentional and unavoidable side effect of regulation is inflation:…
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Obama Administration Discards Reporting Requirements in Obamacare
The Obama administration has illegally discarded the reporting requirements mandated by the 2010 healthcare law, which were designed to prevent countless billions of…
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Beauty and the Beast: Agriculture for the Future
It’s a tale as old as time. How will we feed all the people on this planet of ours, especially with the global population set…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
78 new regulations, from energy efficiency standards for imports to the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee.
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CEI Podcast for July 3, 2013: The EPA’s Assault on State Sovereignty
William Yeatman discusses his new study, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Assault on State Sovereignty."…
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Uncertainty and New Regulatory Burdens Hinder Recovery
Since 2011, the Obama administration’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has been reviewing significantly fewer rules than in prior years and taking longer…
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Her Majesty’s Initiative: Innovation for All?
On Monday, the Financial Times published an editorial praising the United Kingdom’s government for its “provisional approval” of a new in vitro fertilization (IVF)…
Forbes
On Independence Day — How Free Are You, Really?
As reported in Reason by Ronald Bailey, a recent study finds that “Federal Regulations Have Made You 75 percent Poorer.” The claim is that GDP…
Forbes
On Independence Day — How Free Are You, Really?
As reported in Reason by Ronald Bailey, a recent study finds that “Federal Regulations Have Made You 75 percent Poorer.” The claim is that GDP…
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French Cheese Ban: An Attack on “Scientific Principles” in Violation of Treaties Protecting International Trade?
Earlier, we wrote about the U.S. government's de facto ban on the commonplace, perfectly healthy, normal-smelling French cheese mimolette (which I once confused with…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
80 new regulations, from school lunches to the legal definition of “ski area.”…
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Another Federal Appeals Court Rules against Obama Administration’s Contraceptive Mandate
Contraceptives are easy to obtain, and forcing employers to include a broad array of contraceptives in employee health insurance makes as little sense as forcing…
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CEI Podcast for June 26, 2013: TSA Full-Body Scanner Transparency
Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner discusses the TSA's lack of transparency and the scanners' ineffectiveness in deterring terrorism.
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Federal Regulations Make Americans 75 Percent Poorer
"Federal regulations have made you 75 percent poorer," and as a result, "U.S. GDP is just $16 trillion instead of $54 trillion," says an…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
96 new regulations, from fireworks shows near water to handling FOIA requests.
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E-Verify: A Boon for Lawyers, Bad for Employers
I have written extensively about the threats to Americans’ civil liberties from E-Verify, the employment verification system contained within the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform (CIR)…
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A Critique of “300 Million Engines of Growth”: Why More Spending Won’t Cure what Ails U.S. Infrastructure
Earlier this month, the Center for American Progress issued a report in which it set out recommendations for growing the American economy. A significant…
Forbes
Bad regulation is our biggest public scam
In the US, the Competitive Enterprise Institute recently surveyed the extent and cost of federal regulations. The Federal Register, a compendium of regulations, has swollen…
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More Recognition that Dodd-Frank Harms Main Street Banks, Farmers, and Airline Passengers
In two high-profile forums last week, Dodd-Frank, the financial "reform" law sold as targeting Wall Street, was shown to have a devastating effect on Main…
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Spread the Word: New Voice for Wine Consumers
With the launch of The American Wine Consumer Coalition today, U.S. wine consumers now have a place in public policy debates for the first…
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D.C. Council Passes New Rules: Food Trucks Are Here to Stay
After four years, the Council of the District of Columbia finally passed rules to regulate the burgeoning mobile food industry that seem to please all sides.
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President Repeats False “Equal Pay” Statistic Claiming Women Earn 77 Percent of What Men Do
President Obama repeated a myth about equal pay and pay discrimination, as the economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth notes at RealClearMarkets: Last week in the…
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E-Verify National ID System Threatens Americans’ Privacy
“I’m not a criminal, so there’s really no reason for me to be in a criminal database.” That was James Shepherd, a Kentucky native…
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Obamacare and Activist State Courts Drive Up Health Plan Costs
The so-called rate shock from Obamacare has hit Ohio. The state’s Department of Insurance announced last Thursday that the average individual-market health insurance premium…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
93 new regulations, from tanning taxes to wine labels.
Study
Avoiding the Regulatory Cliff
Full Document Available in PDF A Bipartisan Agenda to Restore Limited Government and Revive America's Economy Whether you are new to…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
72 new regulations, from federal pecan insurance to avoiding collisions at sea.
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CEI Podcast for June 6, 2013: Making Passenger Rail Affordable
Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner discusses a new CEI study arguing that regulations make passenger train cars unnecessarily expensive.
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France Needs a “Power-Up” When It Comes to Labor Reform
In its annual country report released on Monday, the IMF turned up the heat on France for labor reform. The Washington-based lender called for…
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Two Decades of Regulatory Growth
Over at The American Spectator, Wayne Crews and I marvel at how much the regulatory state has grown over the last twenty years. We also…
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Pennsylvania’s Liquor Privatization Plan Forgot about the Beer
Beer wholesalers are testifying yesterday morning in the Pennsylvania Senate, expressing their opposition to the proposed plans to privatize the state-run liquor store system.
The American Spectator
Twenty Years of Non-Stop Regulation
Twenty years ago saw the release of the first edition of Ten Thousand Commandments, an annual report that tracks the cost and scope of the…
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George Will on Ten Thousand Commandments
George Will's latest column highlights the main findings of Ten Thousand Commandments.
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European Skepticism of Minimum Wage Falls on Deaf Ears in America
Spain’s central bank—operating within the European country with the highest rate of unemployment—just recommended to the government in Madrid a suspension of the minimum…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
61 new regulations, from Cotton taxes to endangered Hawaiian plants.
Washington Post
A mandate that is off the rails
Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has recently published his “Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.” This year’s…
Blog
CEI Podcast for May 30, 2013: The Politics of Caffeine
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced plans to investigate, and possibly regulate, caffeine consumption. Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton prefers separation of…
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Regulatory Opacity
In today’s Investor’s Business Daily, Wayne Crews and I make the case that one of the biggest obstacles to regulatory reform is a lack of…
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TTB to Allow, Not Require, Nutritional Labeling on Alcoholic Products
It’s a rare occasion that we get to praise government agencies. While the federal agency governing alcoholic beverages certainly took it’s time to make a…
Investor's Business Daily
America’s Soaring Regulations Cost $1.8 Trillion A Year
Politicians from both parties routinely tout the need to roll back unnecessary regulations. But how much overregulation is there exactly? Most politicians have no idea,…
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More than Taxing and Spending
The cost of government is far more than it taxes and spends. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s editorial board agrees, as they opined yesterday:…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
68 new regulations, from Potato Administrative Committees to Segelflugzeugbau sailplanes.
Investor's Business Daily
The cost of regulations: Economic tyranny
The big-government Obama administration’s propensity for end runs around Congress exacerbates the unchecked growth of federal regulations that diminish both liberty and prosperity.
Blog
Regulation of the Day Update: Olive Oil Victory
I recently posted that new EU regulations would require restaurants to use factory packaged and sealed bottles of olive oil. This would put small…
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Anti-Business and Anti-Freedom: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In the American Spectator, CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray and Geoffrey McLatchey explain why the Senate should be skeptical of the United Nations Convention…
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Does Austerity Really “Kill”?
Does austerity kill? In a recent New York Times op-ed, David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu claim that fiscal austerity leads to a worsening of health…
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CEI Podcast for May 22, 2013: Twenty Years of Ten Thousand Commandments
The twentieth anniversary edition of Ten Thousand Commandments was released this week. Author Wayne Crews discusses the study, and how regulation has evolved over the…
Blog
Possible Unintended Consequences in New Obamacare Regulation
The PCIP program gives health care providers an incentive to refuse treatment to people who desperately need it.
One News Now
CEI report: Uncle Sam loves his regulations
Americans spent an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2012 to comply with federal regulations, reports the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The public policy organization has just released…
Breitbart
Cost of Complying with U.S. Regulations Higher Than Canada’s GDP
$1.8 trillion buys a lot of red tape. That’s how much the federal regulatory machine is costing Americans each year, according to the…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments Released Today
Over at the Daily Caller, Wayne and I briefly summarize of few of the report’s findings.
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments 2013
The scope of federal government spending and deficits is sobering. Yet the government's reach extends well beyond taxation and spending. Federal regulations cost hundreds of…
Daily Caller
The Towering Federal Register
This week marks the publication of the 20th anniversary edition of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual survey of the federal regulatory state, Ten Thousand Commandments.
News Release
Ten Thousand Commandments: Regulations Increasingly Used to Enact Measures Voters Wouldn’t Approve
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2013 – In the twenty years since the creation of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory…
Products
Ten Thousand Commandments 2013: A Fact Sheet
Full Document Available in PDF 1. This is the 20th anniversary of Ten Thousand Commandments. In that time, 81,883 final rules have…
Blog
Udall-Paul Legislation Spreads Freedom for Credit Unions and Entrepreneurs
By definition, if a bill is sponsored by Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., or any similarly odd ideological couples in the House, it…
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Regulation of the Day 231: Serving Olive Oil
Starting January 1, 2014, any olive oil served at EU restaurants “must be in pre-packaged, factory bottles with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and labelling in…
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10KC in WSJ
The Wall Street Journal editorial board weighed in this morning on the issue of regulation, citing a few numbers from the forthcoming 20th anniversary edition…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
This week in the world of regulation: Last week, 71 new final regulations were published in the Federal Register. This is up from 64 new final…
Wall Street Journal
Red Tape Record Breakers
President Obama is opposing a bill passed by the House last week that would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to better measure the costs…
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Regulation Roundup
Height limits for flying witches on broomsticks, mandatory street musician auditions, and more.
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Surprising Junk Science on Fox News
News stories trumping junk science are common, but I expect better from Fox News, which claims to be "fair and balanced" and hosts great shows…
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Regulation of the Day 230: The Temperature of Beer
The state of Indiana regulates the temperature at which convenience stores may sell beer. Specifically, they must sell it at room temperature. Cold beer is…
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Sorry, Daily Beast: E-Verify Will Be National ID
Daily Beast blogger Justin Green, who blogs on columnist David Frum’s Daily Beast blog, has responded to Wired’s recent article “Biometric Database of All…
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“Shocking” Truth about Government and Soap
Is your hand wash slowly killing you as government regulators sit idly by? Sounds silly, but that’s what environmentalists seem to think about an antibacterial…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
64 new regulations, from drawbridge schedules to official seals.
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Correcting Misconceptions about Autonomous Vehicles: Reason Magazine Edition
In the June issue of Reason, one of my favorite publications, Greg Beato has an article discussing the public policy implications of autonomous vehicles, such…
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Government’s Chinatown Bus Shutdowns Based on “Statistical Malpractice”
Reason’s Jim Epstein has an article up that does a nice job debunking a National Transportation Safety Board study, prompted by a 2011…
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First Amendment Menace: Obama Administration to Expand Americans with Disabilities Act over Websites?
Can websites be forced to change to accommodate the disabled -- by using "simpler language" to appeal to the "intellectually disabled," or by making…
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How Online “Marketplace Fairness Act” Could Tax Your 401(k)
Today, the Senate likely will pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would force online retailers to collect sales taxes for states in which purchasers reside. Most have heard how this…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
62 new regulations, from the federal flood insurance to California olives.
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CEI Podcast For May 2, 2013: Small Business Owners Sue Over IRS Obamacare Power Grab
Small business owners and individuals in six states, with help from CEI, are suing the IRS over what General Counsel Sam Kazman calls a flagrantly…
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The Costs Of Union Shareholder Activism
Is shareholder activism a good or a bad thing? That depends on what any given resolution seeks to improve the company's performance, and thereby increase…
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Did Hensarling Force Obama’s Hand On “Recess” Appointments?
They called it a "stunt" early last week when House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) refused to allow Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)…
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U.S. Government Bans French Cheese Based On Food Prejudices
The U.S. government is banning a standard, normal-smelling French cheese based on its own squeamishness. The cheese in question is Mimolette, a commonplace,…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week In Regulation
66 new regulations, from the federal Processed Pear Committee to desert buckwheat.
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Maryland Bill Will Force Teachers To Pay For The Privilege Of Going To Work
In a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed and WorkplaceChoice.org blog post, I argue against Maryland’s Orwellian-named Fair Share Act,…
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Regulation Roundup
From adjustable headlights to going on strike over tight pants.
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CEI Podcast For April 25, 2013: Regulations Are Less Than Transparent
Every year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases a report on the costs and benefits of the previous year's new regulations. Wayne Crews…
Blog
Why BPA (And Other Chemicals) Don’t Belong On Proposition 65
If you want to have fun in California's Disneyland, avoid reading the warning signs saying that products used in the park may give you cancer…
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Obama’s Controversial Nominee For Labor Secretary To Be Voted On
Cato Institute attorney Ilya Shapiro wrote Tuesday about “Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights who personifies . . . this…
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Costs Rise In Obama’s New 2013 Draft Report To Congress On The Benefits And Costs Of Federal Regulations
Last year, the Obama Office of Management and Budget’s 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal…
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