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
Free the Economy podcast: Taxing the rich with Jared Walczak
In this week’s episode we cover America’s low-income churn, reforms to civil asset forfeiture, changes to vehicle emissions testing, a shout…
Blog
The week in regulations: Bone void filler and halibut action
May’s job numbers were strong for the third month in a row, though job growth since Liberation Day remains under 100,000, for a labor force…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: State budgets and bailouts with Thomas Savidge
In this week’s episode we cover promising new classroom technology, increasing productivity (and avoiding layoffs) with AI, and the repeal of the…
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National Review
Broken-Window Fallacy Alert
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
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