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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Agenda for Congress: Regulation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are four principles…

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This week in ridiculous regulations: Automatic brakes and horse protection amendments
Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided near Reagan Airport. President Trump issued an Executive Order to stop all federal…

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Free the Economy podcast: Trump vs. the Regulatory State with Susan Dudley
In this week’s episode we cover how the feds are forcing your bank to spy on you, a new strategy for housing…
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News Release
Nation Goes Back To Work Of Economic Recovery
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2001— The terrorist attacks of last week have left a heavy burden on the United States – psychologically, politically,…
News Release
Wall Street Journal Advises President Bush to Follow CEI’s Lead on Regulatory Reform
Review & Outlook Father Knows Best As commander in chief, George W. Bush now outranks his dad. But there are still things he…
Op-Eds
Old Law vs. The New Economy: How New Deal-era Regulations Stifle Flexible Work Arrangements
Delong Article Published In Reason Magazine<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> In August 1997, a certain Mr. T. Trahan of CSC…
Comment
Michael Greve Testifies on Internet Sales Tax Issue
View Full Document as PDF Michael S. Greve cites CEI research in his testimony on Internet sales taxation before the U.S. Senate…
Op-Eds
Second Wind for the Global Economy: Kemp Nationally Syndicated Column
Copyright 2001 Copley News Service Kemp Column Distributed by Copley News Service July 9, 2001 Even as the…
News Release
Cost of Government Day
The Deadly Cost of Fuel Economy Regulations Statement of Sam Kazman, General Counsel Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
White House Listening on Regulatory Reform
Washington, DC, June 29, 2001 — With the fight over taxes over for now, the Bush Administration may soon be taking a hard…
News Release
Federal Court Dismisses Alcohol Advertising Case
Washington, DC, June 26, 2001— A federal district court last week dismissed a challenge to a federal agency’s ban on advertising the medical…
News Release
Little-Known Regulations Contribute to Cost of Government
Washington, DC, June 19, 2001 — Many American know that they must work, on average, from January 1 to May 3 (Tax Freedom…
News Release
Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption to Get Their Day in Court
Washington, DC, June 11, 2001— The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Consumer Alert will present their case for freedom of speech in alcohol labels…
News Release
Statement from CEI President Fred Smith Regarding New CBO Report on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Washington, DC, May 23, 2001 – The latest figures from the Congressional Budget Office indicating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac receive more than $10…
News Release
Washington’s 10,000 Commandments Place Heavy Burden on American Families
Washington, DC, May 21, 2001 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released the study 10,000 Commandments: An Annual Policy Maker’s Snapshot of the…
News Release
Public Interest Group Criticizes Attack on OMB Nominee
Washington, D.C., March 13, 2001—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is accusing critics of the Administration’s new Office of Management and Budget nominee, John D.
Op-Eds
Tax Cut Fast Track
Virtually everyone agrees that George W. Bush confronts a rapidly weakening economy as he assumes the presi- dency. Cutting marginal tax rates was at the top…
Op-Eds
Tax Reform Can be Everyone’s Agenda
While the marathon presidential election in Florida grinds to a conclusion, in Washington, D.C., members of Congress returned in lame-duck session to finish up this…
Op-Eds
In Obscurity, Clinton Regime Saves Worst Regulations for Last
Americans have developed a fetish-like fixation on the “first hundred days” of incoming ‘administrations in the era of promise-us-everything politics. They use the honeymoon period…
Op-Eds
With Cheney, Smart Economics in Supply
Richard Cheney, George W. Bush’s choice for running mate, understands that this marvelous “new” economy we enjoy today began with the across-the-board tax-rate reductions…
Citation
Spending on Red Tape is Rising
News Release
10,000 Commandments — New Report Details REAL Cost of Government
Washington, DC, May 9, 2000 – As last minute filers rushed to finish their taxes and write their checks to the government recently, Congress…
News Release
Shadow Insurance Regulation Committee Statement on Regulatory Restructuring
Washington, DC, May 5, 2000 – The Shadow Insurance Regulation Committee concludes that the two main objectives of any restructuring of insurance regulation…
Op-Eds
Gorging on Regulations
Congress is now debating the $1.8 trillion federal budget. While federal spending consumes an awesome 18 percent of nation’s economic product, the official budget at least…
News Release
Shadow Insurance Regulation Committee issues statements on Commercial Insurance Deregulation, Workers’ Comp, and Electronic Comm
Washington, DC, April 19, 1999 – The Shadow Insurance Regulation Committee issued three statements of consensus today, concerning commercial insurance deregulation, workers’ compensation…
Products
Regulatory Budget Check
However controversial the $1.7 trillion federal budget may be, taxpayers know what Washington officially spends in the congressionally approved budget. That places some…
Products
Proposed Regulatory Report Card
Regulatory Report Card Recommended Official Summary Data by Program, Agency, and Grand Total …with 5-year historical…
Op-Eds
Regulatory Cost Balance Sheet
A new report to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finds that health, safety and environmental regulations cost between $174 billion and…
News Release
New Study Provides “How-To” Guide for Regulatory Reform
Washington, DC, February 29, 2000 –A new report released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) called for congressional approval of all major regulations…
News Release
CEI Criticizes ATF’s Proposed Ban On Alcoholic Beverage Health Statements
Washington, D.C., February 23, 2000 – CEI today filed comments urging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to withdraw its proposed…
News Release
Clinton Budget Is Not The Full Story
Washington, DC, February 7, 2000 – President Clinton’s new fiscal year 2000 budget proposes to spend $1.84 trillion. While that enormous amount would absorb…
Products
OSHA: The 1970s Meet the 21st Century
The reaction certainly wasn’t what anybody expected, least of all at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It was a simple letter in…
Study
Regulating Greenhouse Gases: Will EPA Take a Dive?
The International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon dioxide. This fall, ICTA, an anti-technology group…
Op-Eds
A Cowboy Economy?
On recent trips to Europe, I’ve become increasingly aware of a reality disconnect between the way America is and the way we’re viewed…
Study
Federal Reinsurance for Homeowner’s Insurance: Another Capitol Hill Disaster.
Storm clouds over Capitol Hill. House Banking Committee members are teetering on the brink of triggering a mega-disaster this week that is pointed…
Op-Eds
An Antitrust Division Run Amok (Letter to the Editor)
I would have happily signed a letter urging a cap on the Depart ment of Justice’s Antitrust Division budget if I’d been asked [`Hardball and Windows,” op-ed, Oct.
News Release
Shadow Insurance Committee to Meet October 25 to Review Catastrophe Insurance Financing & Redlining Issues
Washington, D.C., October 22, 1999 – The Shadow Insurance Regulation Committee will hold its second meeting of the year at 12 noon on October…
Op-Eds
New Pricing Plans Are Good
This isn’t your father’s telecommunications market. Long-distance pricing was once onesize-fits-all, with high, distance-sensitive rates cast in stone by regulators. Now that is changing, as…
Op-Eds
Tyranny of the Unelected Regulators
Congress passed and the president signed into law 241 bills in 1998. Meanwhile, federal agencies were far busier: They issued 4,899 rules and regulations — 315…
Washington Times
Unchecked Regulatory Creep
Washington Times
Feeding the Green Money Tree
The Clinton-Gore administration continues to thumb it nose at the Constitution by trying to implement a global warming treaty (the Kyoto Protocol) that has not…
Citation
Regulatory ‘Right to Know’
News Release
June 22: Cost of Government Day
“Every year on April 15, million of taxpayers across the country file their 1040 forms, and are outraged at how much they have to send…
News Release
Institute Applauds Supreme Court Decision UpHolding First Amendmen Rights of Advertisers
Washington, DC, June 15, 1999 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) applauds yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association v. United…
Op-Eds
Constitutional Integrity (Letter to the Editor)
A May 24 editorial, “A retreat on clean air,” suggests that holding Congress to the Constitution will make solid environmental protection a “hazy, distant prospect,”…
Washington Times
Who Makes Our Laws? (Letter to the Editor)
Surely Cass R. Sunstein is right that “greater respect for democratic government” is urgent (“The Courts’ Perilous Right Turn,” Op-Ed, June 2). But in his…
Op-Eds
Suburban Development Made Scapegoat for Urban Woes (Letter to the Editor)
The national debate about suburban development spawns many misunderstandings about the real issues. The recent USA TODAY editorial and response by Vice President Al Gore…
Washington Times
Clearing the Air on Regulatory Excess
The Clinton EPAs biggest regulatory victory was turned into its biggest legal defeat last Friday, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of…
Op-Eds
Enemies of the Stasis
Virginia Postrel’s excellent The Future and Its Enemies (Free Press, 1998, 265 pages) details the many ways in which the forces of dynamism conflict with…
Washington Times
High Price of Regulations
Washington Times
Vice President’s Plan to Change Method to Measure GDP (Letter to the Editor)
Michael Evans’ April 6 commentary “Misguided Solution for debtors” did eh:. excellent job of refuting .Vice. President Al Gore’s plan’ to sell the gold reserves…
Study
Free Speech and Alcohol: How Much Is Too Much?
On February 5th, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), approved two wine labels containing the following statements: The proud people…
Study
The Simple ABC’s of Regulatory Reform
View Full Document as PDF Streaming out of Washington now are sometimes bizarre regulations covering, among other things; workplace ergonomics, flammability…
Washington Times
Congress Reins in Regulatory Beast
Op-Eds
Unlivable Communities
Vice President Al Gore recently announced a new “livable com munities agenda,” designed to “ensure a high quality of life” by controlling so-called “urban sprawl.” But…
Study
So, What Will This Unfunded Mandate Cost Me?
View Full Document as PDF The $1.77 trillion spending budget President Clinton sent to Congress February 2 tells just part of…
Products
What A Congress
As1998 draws to a close, it’s appropriate to look back at the most significant deregulatory successes that have been achieved during the year. Where should…
Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
Wealthier is Healthier
Products
ATF Documents Reveal Ban on Protected Speech
We have previously reported on CEI’s pending lawsuit with the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s ban…
Products
Rethinking Insurance Regulation–1998
NATURAL DISASTERS AND CATASTROPHIC…
Study
A Disaster Waiting to Happen: Why Washington Shouldn’t Subsidize Disaster Insurance
This Thursday, April 23, the House Banking and Financial Services Committee will examine H.R. 219, the Homeowners Insurance Availability Act sponsored by Rep. Rick…
Study
Electric Avenues: Why “Open Access” Can’t Compete
Full Document Available in PDF The regulation of electricity markets…
Products
The Other Roosevelt Legacy
America’s current political dilemma the dominant progressive belief that government is a force for unlimited good — has many roots, but special honor goes…
Products
Flirting With Disaster
Congress is again exploring new ways to undermine the private market for homeowners insurance in disaster-prone parts of the country. On February…
News Release
Hidden “Taxes” Cost Families 20 Percent of Income
Washington, DC, January 22, 1998 — Federal regulations cost taxpayers $688 billion in 1997, over 40 percent more than the size of the entire…
Products
Bail Out For The Foolish
My Daddy always said never get between a fool and his mistake – it would sacrifice the only good that might come from the…
Products
The Economy of the Mind
Address to the Competitive Enterprise Institute ANA Hotel, Washington D.C. Tuesday, October 21, 1997 Thank you, Stan [Evans]. As Bill Clinton says…
Products
Abusing Discrimination
In America at century’s end, the surest way to obtain special treatment for a social group is to assert that its members suffer…
Products
Disparate Impact Dangers
On March 10 one of the nation's largest property and casualty insurers, Nationwide Insurance Company, agreed to part with $13.2 million to settle allegations…
Study
The Yellowstone Affair: Environmental Protection, International Treaties, and National Sovereignty
Full study available in pdf format Environmental regulation has gone international in recent decades. There has been a proliferation of treaties, conventions, and protocols aimed…
Products
NAIC Insures Privileged Access
Thousands of insurance executives and regulators converged on Orlando, Fla., in March to attend the spring meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners…
Products
New Choices in Auto Insurance
The high cost of auto insurance is a serious concern for many people across the country. Annual premiums can run into thousands of dollars.
Products
The Power of Positive Drinking
CEI is back in federal court. On October 29th, CEI filed suit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to challenge the agency’s…
Products
Message from the Executive Director: Time for Another Contract
The 104th Congress was anything but "extremist." Its leaders proposed to balance the budget — but only after seven years. They called for family tax…
Products
Uncle Sam’s Commandments
While government activity is generally, and rightly, associated with taxing and spending, there is another way Congress carries out its objectives: by imposing health, safety,…
Study
The Free Market Automobility Bibliography
Study
Oysters and Willapa Bay
Contents: Oysters Oysters and Willapa Bay Eliminating the Tragedy of the Commons Experimentation and Innovation Fighting for Water…
Study
Appropriations Riders and Environmental Reform: How Appropriate?
Full Version Available In PDF The reform and restriction of federaql regulatory programs is a key element of the conservative Congressional agenda. Many…
News Release
Press Conference: Public in Dark about Alcohol and Heart Disease
WASHINGTON, DC November 6, 1995—CEI today releases a poll showing that over half the American public does not know about the cardiovascular benefits of…
Study
Regulatory Reform: Is it Still a Pipe Dream? A Look at the 104th Congress
Full Document Available in PDF…
Study
How to Dismantle the Interior Department
Full Document Available in PDF The Department of the Interior was…
Study
The Economic Fallacies of Demand-Side Management
Full Document Available in PDF Recent years have seen the emergence of…
Study
Home Not Alone: New York’s War on Landlords
Full Document Available in PDF The key to rent…
Study
Property Rights Fact and Fiction
Full Document Available in PDF The rise of property rights activism was…
Study
Property Wrongs: The Growth of Federal Land-Use Control
Full Document Available in PDF In the spring of…
Study
Public vs. Private Land Management: Which is Better for the Environment
Full Document Available in PDF The…
Study
Putting People Last: Endangered Species vs. People
Full Document Available in PDF Law-abiding, workaday Americans all across…
Study
Instrastate Trucking: Stronghold of the Regulators
The deregulatory wave of the 1970s and early 1980s freed the railroads, the airlines, air cargo carriers, and interstate trucking and buses from the…
Study
Pick a Number
Full Study Available in PDF How much would you be willing to pay for an…
Op-Eds
Better Living through Government Mandate?
Full article available in pdf format.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Technology—or rather government-favored technology—has gained…
Op-Eds
Better Living Through Government Mandate
Technology—or rather government-favored technology—has gained favor among Washington politicos and activists. Technology, these activists seem to believe, makes it possible to mandate almost anything—recycling,…
Op-Eds
Acute Government Activism
Click on link above to obtain .pdf of article.
Op-Eds
Don’t Cross these Lines
Please click on .pdf link above to view article.
Op-Eds
Barriers to Private Insurance
Full Document Available in PDF The American insurance industry is shackled by regulations and restrictions…
Op-Eds
An Environmental House of Cards
AFTER REPEATEDLY HEARING “read my lips, no new taxes,” it is appropriate to ask whether President Bush’s promise to be green was simply protective coloration.
Op-Eds
Deadly Overcaution: FDA’s Drug Approval Process
Full article available in PDF When the federal Food and Drug Administration announces its approval of an important new drug, the…
Op-Eds
Biotechnology Flirts with the Regulators
Biotechnology, like other unfamiliar high tech industries, offers great hopes but arouses even greater fears. Politicians, the record proves, are far more likely to respond to…
Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
The ‘Competitiveness’ Hoax
Study
Antitrust and the 99th Congress
Full Document Available in PDF…
Study
Washington Antitrust Report
View Full Document as PDF Antitrust reform is in serious trouble. The Administration’s efforts to legislate…
Washington Post
Antitrust Act May Undergo Major Changes
Op-Eds
An Antitrust Route to Re-regulation
From telecommunications to airlines and railroads, from banking to natural gas, from trucking to broadcasting, partial deregulation has changed the U.S. economic landscape for…
Op-Eds
Taxpayers Tied to the Tracks
Full article available in pdf. In the latest episode of the Perils of Pauline, the villain, (a.k.a., Amtrak—the most heavily subsidized…
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