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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The week in regulations: CAFE standards and Christmas tree promotions
Israel launched a military strike against Iran. US Senator Alex Padilla was detained for trying to ask a question at a Department of Homeland Security…
Blog
Congress should deregulate if it will not tackle entitlement spending
The Senate is currently reviewing the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill in an effort to have President Trump sign the bill into…
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Your family’s share of federal red tape last year was…
Most people can see taxes on their pay stubs, but there’s another sort of tax that’s much less visible: the cost of government regulations. These…
Search Posts
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Los Angeles (City) Won’t Refuse Permits for Condomless Porn
After years of fighting and failed attempts to force Los Angeles County to require condom-usage on adult film sets, AIDS activists were finally successfully…
Op-Eds
The Obama Tax Hike Machete
In his deficit reduction “vision” speech on Wednesday, President Obama tried to distinguish his plan from that of House Budget Committee…
Blog
China Bans Time Travel
In further proof that communists never won the culture war in China, they merely shut down culture altogether, the Chinese government decided this week to…
Blog
STB Should Ignore Calls to Re-regulate Railroads
Yesterday, I filed a comment letter with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on behalf of CEI regarding the board's request for comments prior to…
Blog
The Environmental-Industrial Complex
Sometimes the green part of green regulations isn't the environment. It's money.
Op-Eds
Democrats Fight Over Power, not Economics (Letter to the Editor)
Re: “EPA’s days as ‘rogue’ agency are numbered” & “Democrats will yield on everything but abortion,” April 11 Congressional Democrats’ approach to their pet projects…
News Release
Senate Committee Considers Raising Efficiency Standards, Oblivious to the Mess They’ve Already Created
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Nicole Ciandella, 202-331-2773 Washington, D.C., April 12, 2011 – The Senate takes a step towards further…
Blog
Education Department Changes Burden of Proof in Sexual Harassment Cases Under Title IX
The Education Department is trying to change the burden of proof that many colleges and universities use in disciplinary proceedings over sexual harassment, despite court…
Citation
Activists Sue USDA to Block Herbicide-Resistant Alfalfa
Boston Globe
Google Cleared for ITA Purchase
The Boston Globe discusses the Google antitrust lawsuit settlement with Wayne Crews. The settlement came under fire from Wayne Crews, vice president for…
Blog
Education Department “Dear Colleague” Letter Shreds Presumption of Innocence in Harassment Cases, Ignoring Supreme Court
To promote due process, some college disciplinary systems recognize a strong presumption of innocence, requiring clear-and-convincing evidence of guilt for discipline. That practice is now…
Boston Globe
Still Burning Witches at the FCC
It seems that things are never quite perfect enough these days for the Federal Communications Commission to elect to leave competitive communications markets alone. When…
Blog
My Response to Simon Johnson’s Defense of Price Controls Benefiting Big Retailers
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post blasting 17 Republican senators who voted last year for Dodd-Frank's Durbin Amendment, which puts below-cost price controls…
American Thinker
Regulatory Dysfunction
American Thinker references Wayne Crews's study on the cost of government regulations. In a 2008 review of the cost of government regulations entitled…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: April 6, 2011
Nation: Wine shipping is once again being threatened by federal legislation threatening to overturn Supreme Court decisions that clearly made it illegal for states…
Blog
Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal is Half the Answer
This morning, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) unveiled a bold proposal to trim trillions off America’s bloated budget. It represents the only serious proposal out there…
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CEI Podcast for April 5, 2011: Reforming the Railway Labor Act
Russ Brown, a vice president at the Labor Relations Institute and a CEI Adjunct Analyst, talks about recent changes made to the Railway Labor Act…
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House Rejects Obama-Backed, Pro-Union Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Bill
This afternoon, the House passed the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011. Perhaps the most contentious issue debated was a provision of the legislation that…
Blog
Meritless, Massive Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart Should Be Dismissed
As a lawyer who used to bring class-action discrimination lawsuits for a living, I am puzzled by press sympathy for the massive, meritless class-action lawsuit…
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Gail Giggles at Consumer Choice in the NYT
Gail Collins has a truly inane opinion piece in the NYT today, in which she excoriates those people -- Tea Partiers and libertarians --…
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Six Pages of Legislation, 1,000 Pages of Regulation
HHS is about to issue over 1,000 pages of new regulations stemming from a 6-page section of last year's health care bill.
The American Spectator
Unionization Through Regulation
Changing election rules to favor one side is something we usually associate with dictatorships. Yet a U.S. federal agency did just that recently, as…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: March 29, 2011
With April Fool's Day just around the corner, you might think that I'm pulling one over on my readers with the some of the laws…
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Delaware DOT Removes a Public Menace
One wonders just how many regulations this rogue basketball hoop violated in the 60 years it spent terrorizing an unsuspecting Delaware neighborhood.
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Maine Gov. LePage Looks to Reform for Balanced Budget
Governor Paul LePage and Maine have skirted the public attention present in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan that have proposed budget reform bills. Maine has proposed…
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March Madness
In the closing days of March, not only are sports fans a bit crazy, so also are the electorate. Consider the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,…
The American Spectator
Antitrust In the Airwaves?
For a moment there I was thrilled that AT&T and T-Mobile were merging, thinking how great it’ll be to finally get reception this coming Easter…
Blog
Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution
In the latest example of big government run amok, several politicians think they ought to be in charge of which applications you should be able…
Study
Class Conflict
Gainful Employment Proposal Penalizes At-Risk Student Populations and Hurts the Economy…
News Release
New CEI Study Challenges Department of Education’s “Gainful Employment” Rule
Washington, D.C., March 24, 2011 – In a new study released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), author Kara Cheseby challenges the…
Blog
TTB Should Allow, Not Mandate Nutritional Labels
Last month I penned an article for BigGovernment.com in which I asserted that some large alcohol producers were in favor of the nutritional label…
Blog
CEI Podcast for March 21, 2011: How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman talks about how ever-stricter energy efficiency regulations are making washing machines more expensive and less effective than they used to…
Daily Caller
Hammertime: Japanese silver lining? Not hardly
Blog
Alcohol Regulatory Roundup: St. Patrick’s Hangover Edition
While you guzzled green beer and nursed the subsequent hangover, politicians and other interested parties were busy creating or preventing regulatory headaches of their own.
Blog
Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?
Text messages cost 20 cents to send, even though they use a fraction of a penny of bandwidth. What gives? Antitrust authorities want to know.
The Wall Street Journal
How Washington Ruined Your Washing Machine
It might not have been the most stylish, but for decades the top-loading laundry machine was the most affordable and dependable. Now it’s ruined—and Americans…
American Spectator
Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?
Text messages are expensive. Most carriers charge customers 20 cents for every text they send. But the tiny messages use up only a fraction…
Blog
Interchange — Will 16 Republicans Again Back Durbin’s Price Controls? (Corrected)
Correction: In the original post, I erroneously included Sen. Mike Crapo twice, when I meant to include Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) as one of the pro-price…
EWeek
White House Asks for Do Not Track Legislation
EWeek discusses legislation on "Do Not Track" search engine features with Wayne Crews. Congress should be very wary politically defining "Do Not Track,"…
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The War on Scent Continues
Nevada's legislature is considering restricting or banning pesticides, potpourri, air fresheners, candles, and pretty much anything with a scent in public places.
National Review
Broken-Window Fallacy Alert
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Regulation of the Day 167: Wearing Perfume
Portland, Oregon is banning city government employees from wearing perfume or cologne at work.
Blog
Bidding Bon Voyage to Nationalized Wind Insurance
According to several Gulf Coast legislators, the idea of adding wind insurance to the National Flood Insurance Program is not going to happen anytime soon.
National Review
Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: Where Is Steven Chu?
Anyone who has done a little reading on the Japan nuclear crisis will know that we’re facing a less dangerous situation than Three Mile Island.
Blog
Unintended Consequences, Low Flush Toilets
In yet another example of why prudence is necessary on the behalf of law makers, who might have a little more faith in the market…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 166: Cowboy Poetry
This year’s budget battle is especially heated. Democrats want the federal budget to be $3.7 trillion. Republicans want it to be $3.6 trillion. Both sides…
Blog
My Statement on the REINS Act Hearing
Here's my full statement on today's House Judiciary Committee hearing on the REINS Act: We commend the House Judiciary Committee for gathering distinguished experts…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Fat Tuesday Edition
Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone! While you enjoy that frosty alcoholic beverage, enjoy this latest round of alcohol-related regulatory actions throughout the nation:…
News Release
Major Reg Reform Bill, REINS Act, Vetted Before House Judiciary Committee Today
Washington, D.C., March 8, 2011 — Congress has an opportunity to restore oversight and accountability to federal regulatory agencies run amuck, as the House Judiciary…
Blog
How to Help Small Businesses
Politicians love small businesses. Almost every campaign stump speech gushes about how important they are for the economy. Never afraid to put our money where…
Blog
Obamacare’s Costs Rise, as Obama Backers Get Preferential Treatment
The cost of Obamacare continues to explode and exceed its sponsors’ predictions. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has now admitted to double-counting in the Obamacare…
Blog
Connecticut Legislation Seeks to Unconstitutionally Restrict Political Speech by Employers
A Connecticut legislator is seeking to restrict the speech of employers on “religious or political” topics in pending legislation (House Bill 5460). The bill…
Blog
Compensate Donors for Giving Their Organs
My letter to the editor in today’s Washington Post: The Feb. 24 front-page article “New kidney transplant rules would favor younger patients” reported…
Blog
What Comes with Public Sector Collective Bargaining
The left has been successful in framing Governor Walker's efforts to end collective bargaining rights in the public sector as an assault on…
National Review
How About a Budget for Regulations?
We have a bad fiscal budgetary process that institutionally isn’t capable of controlling the trajectory of federal spending in any direction but up. We need…
Blog
Privatizing Education the Fix for Collective Bargaining Debate
The collective bargaining debate in Wisconsin has elucidated one critical point: The federal, state, and local government should not be involved in industries that can…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: Windows Intune hits the street March 23: “Microsoft said today that the final version of its Windows Intune cloud-delivered PC management…
Blog
What’s in a Name? A Reflection on the SBA
The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced it is expanding regulation in light of recent abuses. As The Washington Post reported recently, some…
Blog
Bogus Statistic from Wisconsin Union Backers Spreads Despite Repeated Debunking
"A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has time to put its boots on" -- like a…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Gmail accidentally resetting accounts, years of correspondence: “If you've got a working Gmail account, you might want to back it up every so…
Blog
Wisconsin Union Backers Defame Virginia and Spread Bogus Statistics
Virginia schools have better-than-average test scores. Virginia obviously doesn't rank an abysmal 44th in the nation on SATs and ACTs, as…
Blog
$240 Billion Tobacco Deal Challenged in Supreme Court in S&M Brands v. Caldwell
Back in 1998, the states settled their lawsuits against the big tobacco companies in a deal called the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement -- the biggest…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: London Stock Exchange Hit by Technical Glitch: The London Stock Exchange suffered a second embarrassing system glitch in a week on Friday…
Blog
Lessons from Four Loko: Don’t Be Too Good
That lawmakers are still wringing their hands about the alcoholic (formerly caffeinated) drink, Four Loko, reveals that their fears have nothing to do with…
Study
The Case for Reform of the Railway Labor Act
End Unionization through Regulation and Allow Workers to Decertify Unions…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: Google launches Apps certification program for IT pros: “Google has launched a program to certify that staffers at Google Apps resellers have specific…
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Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 24, 2011
Kansas: The Kansas Federal and State Affairs Committee approved legislation that would phase in the sale of full-strength beer, wine and liquor in grocery…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 23, 2011
Alabama: After passing through the state Senate and House, Tuscaloosa voters approved a bill that legalizes Sunday sales of alcohol within…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: Amazon Rolls Out Instant Streaming for ‘Prime’ Members: “Amazon.com (AMZN: 180.45, 0.00, 0.00%) on Tuesday announced its highly-rumored video-streaming service for customers subscribing…
Blog
No, Wisconsin’s Budget Deficit Wasn’t “Manufactured” by Walker and the GOP
Wisconsin is one of the most heavily taxed states in the country, and its government employees are paid much better than the state’s…
National Review
$240 billion tobacco deal challenged in Supreme Court
Back in 1998, the states settled their lawsuits against the big tobacco companies in something called the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement – the biggest legal…
Blog
Egyptian Military Seeks to Reverse Economic Reforms
The military government that replaced Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak is now moving to reverse recent reforms that gave Egypt solid economic growth in the last several…
Blog
Remembering Jack Calfee
The sad news of Jack Calfee’s death came out of the blue yesterday morning. I first met Jack about two decades…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: Meet the Android Malware That Sucks Your Bandwidth: “Mobile malware is still a fringe development, but it’s not inconceivable that you’d run…
Daily Caller
Bad Publicity, Good Results
Turns out there is such a thing as bad publicity. School districts across Wisconsin have closed because of the number of teachers calling in…
Blog
CEI Podcast for February 17, 2011: Let the Best Bulb Win
Brian McGraw, a Policy Analyst for CEI's Center for Energy & Environment, talks about the coming incandescent light bulb ban, who it benefits (bulb manufacturers),…
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Hours of Service
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: ‘Watson’ the computer creams human ‘Jeopardy!’ champs: “An IBM computer creamed two human champions on the television game show “Jeopardy!” today in…
News Release
Dodd-Frank Debit Price Controls Condemned by Michigan Legislature, Coalition Letter
Washington, D.C., February 17, 2011 – Today, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a hearing on Dodd-Frank’s Durbin Amendment, which puts below-cost price…
Blog
Defending the Incandescent Light Bulb
Jim DiPeso, writing at The Daily Green, does not care much for Freedom Action’s campaign to overturn the impending ban on…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: Computer crushes the competition on ‘Jeopardy!’: “The computer outsmarted its human competition in Game 1 of the Man vs. Machine competition on…
Washington Examiner
Sen. Toomey Demands Spending Reform Instead of Debt Ceiling Hike
At Heritage, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., promises not to consider raising the debt ceiling until Congress reforms America’s “unsustainable” spending habits. Toomey’s slim…
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Morning Media Summary
Tech: Google Launches Site-Blocking Extension Against Content Farms: “Aimed at stripping search results of pages from “low-quality” sites, a new Google Chrome extension…
Blog
Regulation of the Day 165: Singing in Public
It is against the law to sing in public in Anderson, South Carolina. But the ban could be lifted as soon as today.
Blog
Michigan May Fire Salvo Against Regressive Debit Card Price Controls
In the battle against Obamacare, the shots heard ’round the world were resolutions against the law by state legislatures. These resolutions led to court cases that…
Blog
Hold the Sizzle: Chipotle, Immigrant Employees Get ICE’d
Chipotle boasts that it offers “food with integrity,” but the popular restaurant chain may want to consider an addendum in light of its recent actions:…
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: FTC Warns About Public Wi-Fi Hotspot Dangers: “The OnGuardOnline.gov website, operated by the Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Homeland Security, Commerce Department…
Washington Examiner
TSA Union Power Grab
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for taxpayers and airport travelers – but a good one for government employee unions. As if the…
News Release
Obama Budget Fails On Regulatory Reform
Washington, D.C., February 14, 2011 — President Barack Obama has submitted a $3.73 trillion spending budget blueprint for fiscal 2012, blowing well past President George…
Orange County Register
Deceptive Obama Budget Still Bloated
The Orange Country Register discusses President Obama's deceptive budget with Iain Murray. "The president is pulling a fast one on the public when he…
Blog
The Pitfalls of Unionizing the TSA
Robert Verbruggen wrote recently about the downside of unionizing the TSA in the National Review, taking issue with the Obama Administration’s decision to allow the…
Blog
PolitiFact: Obama Made False Claims About Health Care, Taxes, and Court Rulings
PolitiFact, which earlier took Obama’s side about whether Obamacare is a government takeover of health care, now is criticizing President Obama for making…
NCPA
Regulation without Representation
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CEI Podcast for February 10, 2011: How Not to Stop Eminent Domain Abuse
Land Use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner takes a close look at an eminent domain reform bill just passed by the Texas State Senate.
Blog
Put Regulations on a Life-Cycle Budget
Reading through the headlines, the top economic stories are about scrutiny of regulation and spending proposals regarding the federal budget. But the similarities and differences…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 10, 2011
Massachusetts: State Representative Alice Peisch filed legislation this week (HD 2759), which would amend the state’s outdated laws from the 1970s that make it…
Creators
A Killer Agency
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: February 9, 2011
Connecticut: Two days after Super Bowl Sunday, Connecticut lawmakers held a hearing on one of the most contentious issues this session:…
Blog
Regulation without Representation
Congress never actually votes on most regulations. As Wayne Crews and I explain in today's Investor's Business Daily, this is regulation without representation.
Blog
Morning Media Summary
Tech: 1Gbps Wi-Fi Soon Coming To a Billion Devices: “Not only is 1Gbps heading for your Wi-Fi network by next year, it will…
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