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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Free the Economy podcast: Competition and innovation with Jack Nicastro
In this week’s episode we cover the case of Suncor v. Boulder County at the Supreme Court, the problems with the Los…
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Here’s how one-in, ten-out is successfully cutting rules — but not draining the swamp
It’s October already, and while there’s no real fiscal year for federal regulation, the September 30 closing of the 2026 budgetary fiscal year marks…
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The week in regulations: Drug prices and inedible almonds
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) learned the difference between the Atlanta Hawks and the Iowa Hawkeyes. President Trump rolled back some China tariffs and published…
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Senate Gazes at Regulatory Dark Matter
The Senate Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management held a hearing yesterday, Examining the Use of Agency Regulatory Guidance, Part II, featuring testimony from…
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Toward a Regulatory Budget
How much should the U.S. government spend on defense? How much on health care? Or energy, or technology?…
Newsmax
What We Can Learn From Britain’s Exit
Newsmax discusses Wayne Crews's annual report on the size and cost of federal regulations. Some regulations make sense. Most libertarians could accept the…
Blog
Will the Sharing Economy Give Us Greater Economic Mobility?
Last night the R Street Institute sponsored a fascinating policy panel here in Washington, D.C., “Boost or Barrier? Upward mobility in the on-demand economy.”…
Blog
Examining Agency (Over)Use of Regulatory Guidance Documents
Today the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management conducted a hearing on "Examining the Use of Agency…
The New York Times
Costs of Regulations
To the Editor: You criticize our study of federal agencies, “Ten Thousand Commandments,” for analyzing the costs of regulations without adjusting for their alleged benefits…
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Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
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Ryan Young
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Fred L. Smith, Jr.
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