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
DOGE cancellation theatrics change nothing in the regulatory power game
“Trump administration officials have not openly said that DOGE no longer exists.” That admission came 10 paragraphs into a widely reported “exclusive” Reuters story claiming…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Sesquicentennial celebration
In this week’s episode we celebrate the show’s sesquicentennial anniversary – that is, our 150th episode. We look back at the dozens of smart,…
Blog
Shutdown lesson: Depend less on DC
The record-length shutdown showed how dependent many Americans are on Washington. This is one of the biggest flaws in the ongoing nationalization of politics. In…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
False Prophets of Debt-Ceiling Doom
If I didn’t know any better, I’d be on the lookout Tuesday for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. With Aug. 2 just around the…
Blog
Government Promoted the Risky Non-Traditional Mortgages that Triggered the Financial Crisis
Ed Pinto, who was an executive at Fannie Mae long before it went into the toilet and nearly took the financial system down with it,…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 187: Pedicabs
The DC City Council wants to require pedicab passengers to wear seatbelts.
Blog
More Confusion on Breast Cancer Screening
When the federal government's Preventive Services Task Force recommended in November 2009 that most women under age 50 should stop having regular…
Citation
Inhofe Bill Would Shine Sunlight on Regulation Costs
Study
A CARE-less Rush to Regulate Alcohol
Wine, beer, and spirit wholesalers have a long history of employing state laws to secure a guaranteed slice of the market. Recent court cases have…
Blog
Killed by Regulations: New Century Brewing, RIP
Add another name to the list of the dead as a result of actions taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I certainly feel a…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 186: Missing Children
Covington, Kentucky police ordered a grieving grandmother to take down fliers of her missing granddaughter from city property.
Blog
Steve Wynn: Obama is the “Greatest Wet Blanket to Business and Progress and Job Creation in My Lifetime”
Even Democratic businessmen are getting disenchanted with the Obama administration and its knee-jerk hostility to anything that creates jobs or wealth. Las Vegas mogul…
Op-Eds
Dodd-Frank’s Fannie Trap
One year ago today, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Despite the “Wall Street” moniker, the tentacles of Dodd-Frank’s…
Op-Eds
Failure is Not a (Government) Option
At his press conference on the debt ceiling negotiations, President Obama lamented that he’d rather “be talking about stuff that everybody welcomes, like new [government]…
Citation
One Year Later: Frank-Dodd “Reform” Leaves Fannie and Freddie Intact
Blog
Competitors: Stop That Merger!
Real competition happens in the market. Not in Washington.
Op-Eds
Put a Ceiling on Overregulation
President Barack Obama may have inadvertently revealed one area of common ground with the Republicans during his recent news conference laying out sharp differences with…
Blog
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Nominee Richard Cordray Supports Price Controls and Borrower Bailouts
Last Thursday, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau architect Elizabeth Warren insisted that her priority was not to ban certain…
Blog
Free Speech versus Compelled Praise for Diversity
Can the government force those it licenses to parrot its praise for "diversity"? The Colorado Department of Human Services Child Care Division thinks so, issuing…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 185: How to Wear Pants
Collinsville, Illinois officials know that when you look good, you feel good. That’s why they are now regulating the height at which people shall wear…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: July 19, 2011
California: In an attempt to lower the rates of minors drinking alcohol, a bill is being pushed that would prevent grocery store patrons from…
Op-Eds
It’s for the Children
The government robber barons justify themselves by telling you that big government is for your own good or, even better, “it’s for the children!” What…
Blog
Another Shot at Pennsylvania Liquor Privatization
Ah, Pennsylvania: home sweet home. The state known for its soft pretzels, Hershey’s chocolate and Sylvester Stallone statues. Unfortunately, it has also…
Blog
Police Shut Down Renegade Lemonade Stand
Vendors inside the car show didn't appreciate the competition. So they talked the city government into passing a new ordinance that put the girls out…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 184: Picking up Dog Poop
A Vienna, Austria man was recently jailed for not picking up after his Great Danes.
One News Now
Regs Reform Merely a Pittance
Blog
Permit More Permits, Please
Want jobs? The National Ocean Industries Association and the American Petroleum Institute have the answer: restore the number of exploration and offshore drilling permits…
Blog
The President’s Health Care Fables
The president pushed the health care bill through Congress using a series of fables -- health insurance horror stories…
Big Government
Unnecessary Government Intervention
Blog
Stealing You Blind: Some Solutions to Over-Government
The central theme of my new book Stealing You Blind is that America is over-governed – at federal, state, and local level (there’s a…
National Review
Highway Robbery
National Review
A Training Manual for Right-Sizing Government
Attempting to reduce the size of government program-by-program is almost certainly a fool’s errand. With a trillion-dollar deficit looming every year, ending earmarks or finding…
Wall Street Journal
Let There Be Light Bulbs
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition in Support of the Wireless Tax Fairness Act
Full Document Available as PDF CEI has signed a letter along with a coalition of other…
Blog
Debt Ceiling Deal of 1996 Set Regulatory Reform Precedent
In National Review this week, Wayne Crews and I make the case for including regulatory reform in a debt ceiling package. "Any hike in…
Wall Street Journal
Bush Years Imposed Crushing Regulatory Burdens
Among the biggest lies told by liberals over the past few years is that the administration of President George W. Bush was some sort of…
Wall Street Journal
Chris Horner on “Green” Programs and the War on Styrofoam
Chris Horner addresses the failure of "green" programs, both in terms of cost and purpose. He discusses the many millions wasted by the government…
Wall Street Journal
The Debt Ceiling, Thomas Jefferson and the Semi-Virtue of a Balanced Budget Amendment
I’m for a balanced budget, even an amendment, but I’m more for the principle of limited government. A federal government that picks a national bird…
Blog
Fannie Mae Played a Bigger Role in the Financial Crisis than Previously Thought
In the Wall Street Journal, Peter Wallison, who prophetically warned against the risky practices of mortgage giant Fannie Mae, describes the key role…
Blog
Michelle Obama’s 1700 Calorie Hypocrisy
I am no fan of ad hominem attacks, especially when it’s the President and his administration that deserve true criticism for their policies. So, when…
Blog
CEI’s Iain Murray Interviewed on New Book, Stealing You Blind
CEI Vice President for Strategy, and director of CEI’s Center for Economic Freedom, Iain Murray has a new book, Stealing You Blind: How Government…
Wall Street Journal
Put a Ceiling on Overregulation
After months of saying it wanted a “clean” hike in borrowing authority, the Obama administration now proclaims it wants to do something “big” in a…
Blog
Justice Department’s Witch Hunt Against Banks Will Harm Economy
The Justice Department is now extorting multimillion dollar settlements from banks, by accusing them of racial discrimination because they use traditional, non-racist lending criteria…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 183: Throwing Wet Sponges
Apparently British regulators don’t think their subjects are sponge-worthy.
Wall Street Journal
Protestors Disapprove of Immelt’s Keynote Speech on Creating Jobs
News Release
Government Bureaucrats “Stealing You Blind,” New Book Reveals
Washington, D.C., July 11, 2011 – So-called public servants are “stealing you blind” with inflated salaries, early retirement, massive pensions, leaving a legacy of red…
New York Times
Red Tape Update: I Demand That You Audit Me
Blog
Regulation of the Day 182: The Definition of a Hot Dog
Having solved the state’s fiscal crisis, California’s state legislature has moved on to more important issues, such as the legal definition of “hot dog.”…
Blog
Strangely Specific Regulations
The next someone tells you the economy is dangerously unregulated, refer them to this list:…
Blog
CEI Podcast for July 7, 2011: How Much Does Regulation Cost?
One federal study says federal regulations cost $1.75 trillion. Another says it's $62 billion. The difference is almost a factor of 30. Vice President for…
Blog
Big Government Continues to Hurt Small Businesses Most
The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy released a study showing that the burden of government regulation disproportionately falls onto small businesses. Specifically, those with…
Blog
New Video on the D.C. Taxicab Medallion Bill
Reason.tv has a new video up today, “D.C. Taxi Heist: How a new law would screw drivers and riders,” that explains why Washington’s proposed…
Daily Iowan
The Growth of the Administrative State
The Daily Iowan reports on Wayne Crews's report on the size of the federal regulatory burden. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has issued its…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 182: PowerPoint Presentations
A political party in Switzerland is seeking to ban Microsoft PowerPoint presentations in meetings.
Daily Iowan
The Cost Of Government Regulation
“You, there: stop complaining and start hiring!” That is essentially the Obama administration’s message to businesses. This is an administration that seems to believe that…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Independence Day Edition
Hopefully, this Independence Day weekend you liberated some nice libations from their containers. As Founding Father Ben Franklin said, “there can’t be good living where…
Blog
The National Labor Relations Act Turns 76
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) turns 76 today. This day should give pause to those who have been following the National Labor Relations…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 181: Offensive Bumper Stickers
Tennessee drivers can be fined $50 if someone else finds their bumper sticker offensive.
Blog
Sour Attitudes on Raw Milk
In a letter to the Washington Post over this past weekend, a “food safety consultant” in northern Virginia named Thomas L.
Blog
Failed Stimulus Spending Erodes America’s International Competitiveness, Wipes Out Wealth
In the Daily Caller, Chris Edwards has an interesting article about why government spending doesn’t “stimulate” the economy over the short-run or the long-run. Rather than…
Washington Times
Employers Doubt Obama’s Vow of Less Red Tape
The Washington Times references Wayne Crews's study on the size of the federal regulatory burden. Mr. Kovacs noted that the Government Accountability Office…
Blog
Chicago Mayor Emanuel Gives Unions a Choice: Concessions or Layoffs
Leaders of government employee unions must be feeling lonely these days. Across the country, Democratic state and local elected officials — traditional union allies —…
Blog
Restricting Your Right to Superlatives: Anna Eshoo and the FCC
A California Democrat is seeking to expand the bureaucracy of the FCC in order to protect Americans from dropped calls. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)…
Study
Labor Unions and the Democratic Party
Full Document Available in PDF Recently AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka compared…
Richmond Times Dispatch
Fuel-Economy Standards Need a Warning Label
Blog
Costs and Benefits of Regulation
One of the major developments in regulation over the last 30 years has been the rise of cost-benefit analysis. At first, agencies squirmed and resisted.
Blog
An Economic Paradox: SelectUSA, Government’s Expansion, and Private-Sector Growth
President Obama signed an executive order on June 15 to create SelectUSA, a new bureaucracy that acts as a one-stop-shop for government subsidies, in the…
Blog
Tyranny in Farmville
Two days ago, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog filed an anti-trust complaint with the FTC seeking an investigation of Facebook’s allegedly anti-competitive practices. These…
Richmond Times Dispatch
The USDA’s Anti-Science Activism
Full Document Available in PDF U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack must…
Blog
Farm Workers Win in California
Late last night Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the California farm workers “card check” bill SB 104 for. The bill would have abolished workers right to…
Blog
Dodd-Frank Interchange Fee Price Controls Less Draconian, But Still Destructive
Today, at around 3:30 pm, the Federal Reserve will vote on a final rule that will make price controls from the Durbin Amendment of Dodd-Frank…
Blog
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Obamacare’s Individual Mandate in Divided 2-to-1 Vote
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the individual mandate contained in the 2010 healthcare law by a 2-to-1 vote, claiming that…
Blog
Senate Judiciary Committee Pushes False Claim that Supreme Court is “Pro-Business”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is bashing the Supreme Court today as pro-business in a hearing that began at 10:30 a.m. Two of the…
News Release
CEI Slams FDA Vote on Avastin
Washington, D.C., June 29, 2011 — An FDA advisory committee voted today to revoke the approval for breast cancer treatment from the drug Avastin.
Blog
Regulation Roundup
King County's $86 fine for swimming without a life vest, plus more.
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on the Proposed Inspection System for Catfish
Full Document Available as a PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Supreme Court: California’s Ban on Violent Video Game Sales to Minors Violates Free Speech
California's ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors has been struck down by the Supreme Court as a violation…
The Wall Street Journal
Why Your New Car Doesn’t Have a Spare Tire
Auto makers comply with fuel economy mandates by making cars lighter and more dangerous. Fewer tires, higher taxes. That may be what’s in store for…
National Review
Obama Mandates a Market for His Green Cars
Blog
Rail Carriers, Shippers Battle Over Regulation Before the Surface Transportation Board
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I've been involved in an ongoing proceeding before the Surface Transportation Board, the independent Department of Transportation agency…
Blog
A Definition of Unsustainable: The Long-Term Budget Outlook
The Congressional Budget Office has released its latest edition of the Long-Term Budget Outlook, and it makes for grim reading. Federal debt is currently…
Blog
What Unions Could Learn from AARP
Last week the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) announced a major policy shift regarding Social Security. Formerly seen as the largest opponent to…
Blog
Stealing You Blind: Plans for Future Theft
One of the themes of Stealing You Blind is how public sector unions have worked with politicians to organize an industrial-scale transfer of wealth…
National Review
Catching Air Without NASA: How Will We Regulate Commercial Space Flight?
What if having a vibrant space program requires bypassing NASA? There exist great pressures for change despite NASA’s signature successes. The private experimental launches…
Tech News World
FCC Aims to Get Carriers’ Sticky Fingers Out of Customers’ Pockets
Blog
We Need Regulators, Not Interveners
Most of what people call regulation doesn't have anything to with regular commerce. These kinds of rules are more accurately called interventions.
Blog
Meet Your New Mom: Kathleen Sebelius and Cigarette Warnings
Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius recently made a revealing statement on how she perceives the role of government and her place within…
Blog
A Peek Inside the Bureaucrat’s Mind
By now, this story about the city of Portland, Oregon, deciding to drain nearly 8 million gallons of water from one…
Blog
Improve Americans’ Physical and Fiscal Health: Cut Out the FDA
President Obama made a big show about cutting “red tape” government regulations that kill jobs and hurt the economy. In addition, members of the…
Blog
More Proof That Unions Don’t Improve Schools
Schools in right-to-work states (where unions are weak) are getting better and better over time compared to schools in heavily-unionized states. As Walter Russell Mead…
Tech News World
Upton: House Will Vote to Bring Back the Bulb
Daily Caller
Regulators Should Regulate Economy, Not Intervene In It
Just as surely as summer is followed by autumn, it seems that these days every proposed corporate merger is followed by antitrust complaints —…
New American
Regulating Jobs to Death
The New American discusses Wayne Crews's study on the size of the federal regulatory burden. A much more somber rendering of the regulatory…
Blog
“Uncertainty” Not the Whole Story of our Economic Doldrums
As those engaged in the policy battlefield, our focus is often on taking apart arguments used to advanced proposed solutions we disagree with. But sometimes…
Blog
New Bill Would Tax Online Gambling
Yet another online gambling bill to add to the pile, Rep. Jim McDermott introduced the igaming taxation and regulation bill that he unsuccessfully…
Blog
FDA Overkill on Cigarette Packaging
Get ready to see nine sensationalistic images depicting the dangers of smoking on cigarette packs beginning September 2012. Rotted lungs and teeth, chest holes,…
New American
Liberate ATMs and Credit Unions to Jumpstart Jobs
“ATMs don’t destroy jobs,” tweeted Davd Burge of the Iowahawk blog in response to Obama’s now-infamous “Today Show” explanation of unemployment. “Politicians who…
Blog
No Such Thing as an Average Cancer Patient
CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko has an excellent piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Greg doesn't think it's right that the FDA is denying terminally…
Blog
The Cloak-and-Dagger Fed
Wiretaps, surveillance, and searches of private property cannot be authorized and executed without a warrant issued by a judge, who (hopefully) maintains the commitment to…
New American
There’s No ‘Average’ Cancer Patient
On June 28, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a hearing to decide the fate of Avastin, a drug taken by thousands…
Blog
In Journalism, Scaremongering Pays — Or, Is Ethical Journalism an Oxymoron?
As legal commentator Ted Frank notes, ABC was rewarded for deliberate scaremongering and deceptive reporting that created needless fear and anxiety among Toyota owners…
Blog
Lessons in Entrepreneurship: Lemonade Stand Edition
Lemonade stands are technically illegal in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Blog
Government’s Next Scapegoat
The SEC is bringing fraud charges against leading credit-rating companies for not being thorough enough in their research to determine ratings on mortgage-backed securities…
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