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.
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Free the Economy podcast: Social mobility in the 50 states with Justin Callais
In this week’s episode we talk about satellite shot clocks at the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Reserve nominee Kevin Warsh’s digital-dollar beliefs,…
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Halfway through the 119th Congress, CEI’s Agenda is turning into action
As the 119th Congress reaches its halfway mark, it is a good time to look back on what lawmakers have done in the past year.
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The week in regulations: Reimagining education and underground mines
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chairman. The Fed held interest rates steady at its most recent FOMC…
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Censorship and Bailouts for the Rich
George Will has an interesting column on how the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” that many liberal lawmakers want to reimpose in order to shut down…
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Advocacy groups vs. Bush’s 11th hour
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Expertise Trumps Ideology in Obama’s Early Picks
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auto bailout
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PCAOB Case to Supreme Court
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Waxman Win Is Boon for Environmentalists, Bust for Utilities
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The Waxman Wane
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Bush administration’s legacy
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carbon dioxide and The Clean Air Act
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auto industry bailout
Newsletter
White House Summit, Auto Bailout and Oil Drilling
Leaders of twenty nations gather at the White House to discuss the global financial downturn. Lawmakers prepare to debate a financial…
Op-Eds
Another housing crisis brewing
As it continues to pick up the pieces from the mortgage mess, Congress needs to take note of another housing-related crisis that threatens…
Citation
“midnight” regulations
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regulatory reform and Sarbanes-Oxley
Newsletter
Freezing Regulations, Attorney General Prospects and Bailing Out Detroit
President Elect Obama meets with his team of economic advisors. Controversial law professor Charles Ogletree is mentioned as a possible nominee for Attorney General. Detroit’s…
Op-Eds
Bush Should Keep Promise To Stop New Regs
Despite his party’s defeat at the polls last week, President Bush still wields enormous regulatory power. The way he manages this power—and, in…
Newsletter
White House Transition, More Bailouts and Power Struggles in Congress
George W. Bush and Barack Obama hold transition talks at the White House. Auto manufacturers continue their push for their own federal bailout. Two senior…
Tech Policy Central
CEI Blasts New Banking, Internet Gambling Regulations
News Release
An Agenda for the Obama and Bush Meeting
Since the President and President-elect start spending quality Oval Office time together today, and since the incoming administration’s advisors can’t settle on either pushing a…
Op-Eds
Dealing with the Threat of Global Recession
Fred L. Smith Jr. and John Berlau on the upcoming Global Economic Summit: Governments should agree to a timetable to end the bailouts.
Tech Policy Central
Op de valreep versoepelt Bush wat strenge milieuregels
Newsletter
Online Ads, Regulatory Reform and Free Trade
Google and Yahoo abandon a proposed advertising partnership amid antitrust concerns. President-Elect Obama begins transition work with the current White House staff. Rep. Rahm Emanuel…
Tech Policy Central
Next up: Bush administration’s anti-environment rules
Tech Policy Central
Groups Seek To Halt ‘Midnight Regulations’
Tech Policy Central
Bush Team Rushes Environmental Policy Changes
Capital Reseach
The economic crisis is the fault of the American people
Capital Reseach
Bush rushes through ‘harmful’ environment laws
Capital Reseach
Green, Free-Market Groups Decry ‘Midnight Regs’
Capital Reseach
Obama vs. Clinton
Ever since the economy emerged as the top campaign issue, Barack Obama has developed two basic messages. One is that the deregulation John McCain…
Capital Reseach
In Bush’s end-game, lots of changes on environment
Capital Reseach
Spitzer and Sarbox Were Deregulation?
News Release
Conservation and Free-Market Groups Call for Regulation Moratorium
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Internet Censorship, Reforming Fannie and Freddie and Free Trade with Colombia
American tech companies announce new guidelines for doing business in nations threatened by censorship. Lawmakers urge embattled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to…
Capital Reseach
the origins of the mortgage crisis
Capital Reseach
an economic policy agenda for the next president
Capital Reseach
Free Market Groups Launch Website to Move “Beyond Bailouts” Toward Fiscal Solvency
News Release
Free Market Groups Launch BeyondBailouts.org
As the economy continues to adjust to the credit crunch, CEI and NTU partner to fight for real financial reforms, not reckless spending.
Op-Eds
Government’s “10,000 Commandments” Cost Americans More than $1 Trillion
Federal regulations cost Americans almost as much as the income tax and more than 40 percent of all federal spending, according to “Ten Thousand…
Capital Reseach
Proprietary Products Boost NAIC Budget’s Bottom Line
Capital Reseach
Bailout drama fuels debate on regulation of insurance
Capital Reseach
NAIC oversight of AIG
Study
Facts About the AIG Collapse: A Response to the NAIC
Full Document Available in PDF Following the collapse…
Capital Reseach
Ecuador taking control of more mining concessions, Petrobas oil field
Capital Reseach
Ecuador Should End WFT Double-speak
In the midst of congratulating the Ecuadorian government on its landmark decision to eliminate the proposed 70 percent windfall tax on mining…
Capital Reseach
The Costs of Federal Regulation
Op-Eds
Oil Speculators ‘R’ Us
Those dastardly speculators! As well as oil company CEOs, traders in commodity futures have become convenient whipping boys for politicians of both…
Newsletter
Fewer New Laws, Disability Regulations and Bottled Water Bans
The current Congress has passed the fewest number of new laws in twenty years. The U.S. Justice Department finds that more than 100,000 apartments in…
Newsletter
Day Laborers in LA, Nuclear Power and Corporate Finance
Los Angeles lawmakers require home improvement stores to construct shelters for day laborers who wait for work in their parking lots. Electricity provider Constellation Energy…
Study
Airline Deregulation
If the government deregulates the grid and transitions toward a market solution, the benefits of flow deregulation will increase, and costs for air travelers will…
Op-Eds
Sarbanes-Oxley Challenge Is Rooted in Law’s Flaw
Re: Jane Bryant Quinn’s column, “Accounting Cleanup Board Is Facing a Gutting’’ (July 16): In her attack on our constitutional challenge to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act…
Newsletter
Global Warming Allergies, Change at the SEC and Accounting for the Cost of Government
Global warming gets blamed for an increase in allergies. Paul Atkins steps down as Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Taxpayer advocates observe…
Op-Eds
A ‘Hidden Tax’ Of Rules Hits Economy
Regulatory compliance now costs of $1.16 trillion, higher than Canada's entire 2004 GDP—that's a knock-out blow to the economy…
News Release
SEC Commissioner Earns Praise for Service to Investors, Entrepreneurs
On Aug. 1, Paul S. Atkins ended his six-year term as Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Competitive Enterprise Institute President Fred…
Newsletter
Costs of Regulation, FDA Reform and Global Warming Skepticism
The House Small Business Committee hears testimony on the costs of federal regulation. Patient advocates urge lawmakers to pass legislation forcing the Food and Drug…
Newsletter
Whole Foods Merger, Ethanol’s Impact and Health Savings Accounts
A federal court calls into question the recent merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats natural food stores. South Asian leaders meet to discuss food…
News Release
Congress Examines Burdens of Federal Regulation
Today members of the House Small Business Committee are hearing testimony on the burdens of federal regulation and the need for reform. Wayne Crews, Vice…
Cafe Hayek
Regulation by Markets, Not by Bureaucrats
Real Clear Markets
Corporate Welfare for XM/Sirius Competitors?
After a year's delay, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin blessed Sirius Satellite Radio’s buyout of its competitor, XM. Martin is just one of…
Real Clear Markets
the cost of federal regulation
TRIB Live
Ten Thousand Commandments and Government Regulations
Newsletter
Expensive Regulations, Fannie Mae Bailout and Baseball Stadiums
Americans for Tax Reform marks the annual “Cost of Government Day.” Plans to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to rescue mortgage companies Fannie Mae and…
Newsletter
Banking Crisis, Globalization and Internet Poker
Federal officials charge that a letter from Sen. Chuck Schumer sparked the run on deposits that triggered the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history this…
News Release
Cost of Gov’t Day Includes $1.16 Trillion in Regulations
What goes up and doesn’t come down? The federal budget and the cost of federal regulations. A new report finds that the cost of federal…
Newsletter
The Cost of Government, Cell Phone Fees and the Housing Bailout
American for Tax Reform prepares to observe “Cost of Government Day.” Verizon settles a lawsuit over its “early termination” fees for mobile phone customers. The…
News Release
Cost of Federal Regulation Grew to $1.16 Trillion
What goes up and doesn’t come down? The federal budget and the cost of federal regulations. A new report finds that the cost of federal…
Study
Ten Thousand Commandments
CEI's Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State…
Products
CEI Planet: April – May 2008
View the new Montly Planet by downloading the PDF of the issue. Below you’ll find previews of the articles in this issue: The New…
Newsletter
The FCC Goes Local, Economic Woes and Gun Rights
Senators express concern over proposed FCC localism regulations. The U.S. economy avoids recession status with modest growth in the first quarter of 2008. A federal…
TRIB Live
Cementing Ecuador’s Poverty by Decree
During my pro-mining mission to Ecuador weeks ago, I visited the Tres Chorreras exploration project and witnessed how a single company can…
News Release
“Future of the Internet” at Stake in Senate
Tomorrow the Senate Commerce Committee assesses “The Future of the Internet.” Among the most controversial issues is proposed federal regulation of broadband network…
Op-Eds
Police Those Credit Cards
The burdensome, patronizing, new credit card regulations proposed in the wildly misnamed “Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights” will hurt just about every…
News Release
CEI Takes on Unconstitutional Agency in Court
Today, as Americans scurried to get their tax forms into the IRS, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about another agency that…
Newsletter
Financial Regulations, Greenhouse Gases and Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo
The Treasury Department’s “blueprint” for overhauling financial regulation faces strong opposition. State governments across the country pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. News Corp. considers…
News Release
New Financial Regulations Will Expand Bureaucracy
In a new study released this week, Competitive Enterprise Institute scholars size up the Treasury Department’s recent proposal to restructure the way…
Newsletter
The Fed, Biotech Crops and Mortgage Bailouts
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson officially announces a plan to reform oversight of financial markets. Research into genetically modified crops gets a boost in India. President…
Newsletter
Paulson’s Plan, International Competition and New Leadership at FTC
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to reform oversight of financial markets sparks intense debate. U.S. capital markets lose ground to international competitors. President Bush appoints…
News Release
CEI Opposes Broad New Powers for Federal Reserve
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today unveiled a plan for restructuring the federal role in regulating financial institutions. The blueprint contains good recommendations on…
TRIB Live
5 Absurd Product Bans
TRIB Live
Economic Stimulus
Op-Eds
Less is More
Wayne Crews tells us that while we need control of the fiscal state–but just as badly we need to rein in the regulatory state.
TRIB Live
the Possibility of a Recession
Op-Eds
Freedom and its Digital Discontents
John Berlau, director of CEI's Center for Entrepreneurship, debates Sarbanes-Oxley in the Economist…
TRIB Live
Dumb Product Bans
Study
First Steps toward Restoring Florida’s Insurance Market
Full Document Available in PDF As Florida’s Legislature proceeds with its…
Newsletter
Banned Products, Hybrid Cars and Discrimination Lawsuits
Issues in the News 1. POLITICS Virginia residents object to a law banning the sale of sangria, even in…
Newsletter
The Supreme Court, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Bernanke on the Economy
The Supreme Court-- pro business?…
Study
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
This paper focuses on five clearly absurd product bans that seem to serve no social good.
News Release
Economic “Stimulus” Policies Trapped in the Past
Washington, D.C., February 21, 2008 — The economic stimulus package recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush will do little to improve…
Study
Still Stimulating Like It’s 1999
Full Document Available in PDF Facing an economic…
News Release
Stimulus Package Not the Path to Economic Recovery
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., February 14, 2008—This week President Bush signed a $168 billion economic stimulus package. Unfortunately for…
News Release
Bush Budget Ignores Hidden Costs
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., February 4, 2008—The White House has released President Bush’s budget for the federal government,…
Op-Eds
Comcast in the Crosshairs
Despite Comcast's ascendancy, the cable provider remains vulnerable - yet its greatest threat is not from Baby-Bell competitors but from lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
Op-Eds
Romney Had a Hammer
Mitt Romney’s surprisingly decisive victory in Michigan kept him in the race for the Republican nomination, but he wasn’t the only one Tuesday night…
Study
Regulatory Competition: A Primer
Full Document Available in PDF Government regulation is often perceived as a good way to…
Op-Eds
Opposing view: Plan Hurts Future Borrowers
The government sure has a funny prescription for restoring confidence in America's credit markets. It purports to solve the nation's credit crunch — a…
Study
The Credit Union Regulatory Improvement Act
Full Document Available in PDF This paper provides a free market perspective on…
News Release
New Video: Cheers to Repeal Day!
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network is releasing a new video just in time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HEALTH New drug approvals by the Food and Drug Administration decline dramatically. CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar…
News Release
Congress Moves to Restrict Access to Home Loans
Washington, D.C., November 15, 2007—Today the U.S. House of Representatives will likely pass a new law that would limit access to home mortgages in…
Op-Eds
This just in
Mark Allen’s "FCC should face reality" [guest commentary, Nov. 8] rightly points out the negative effects of the FCC’s media-ownership rules. One not…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- 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