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
Fox Business
Biden on Day 1 Scrapped Trump Rule that Helped US Save $160 Billion: Report
Fox Business cites Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on regulations and the Biden administration: But Clyde Wayne Crews, a vice president with the…

News Release
CEI Backs Sen. Johnson’s Call for President Biden to Re-Instate Transparency in Agency Guidance Executive Order
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and 20 of his colleagues sent a letter to President Biden, requesting he reverse his decision to overturn Executive Order 13,891,…
Las Vegas Review Journal
EDITORIAL: Regulatory benefits that are ‘impossible’ to quantify
The Las Vegas Review Journal cites Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews and CEI’s “10 Thousand Commandments”: Needless to say, President Joe Biden and…
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Washington Examiner
Biden Poised to Be the Biggest Regulator in History
The Washington Examiner cites Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on regulatory reform: “Biden has signaled in all areas that the Trump regime, such…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2020 election is finally, mercifully, over. Barring a surprise in the Georgia Senate runoffs, we will continue to have divided government. This arrangement typically…
Forbes
Some Trump Executive Orders On Regulation Need To Be Kept No Matter What
Some see federal regulatory intervention as unaccountable and unrestrained. That was and remains a key focus of the Donald Trump reform agenda. Executive orders addressing…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2024 election season officially began on Wednesday. The 2020 Federal Register topped 70,000 pages right on election day, and is on pace to be…
EP NewsWire
COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Record GDP Numbers: Good News and Next Steps
EP NewsWire cites CEI senior fellows Iain Murray and Ryan Young on economy and regulations. Ryan Young, CEI Senior Fellow: “Most of the talk…
Blog
The 2020 Election Actually Had Some Free-Market Victories
Neither presidential candidate has much interest in limited government. But over at National Review, I look at some neglected down-ballot victories…
Staff & Scholars

Clyde Wayne Crews
Vice President for Policy and Senior Fellow
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation

Ryan Young
Senior Fellow
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform

Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government

Sam Kazman
General Counsel
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance

Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment