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
This week in ridiculous regulations: airline fees and greenhouse gas reporting
The Federal Register grew at nearly triple its usual pace last week. It is on pace for its first-ever 100,000-page year. GDP growth slowed to…
The Center Square
Study: Mixed record on permitting reform offers some hope
CEI’s James Broughel provided comments to The Center Square about a study he authored: “Pennsylvania’s a state where energy is very important to its…
Forbes
Libertarian Victory: You Mean We Can Shut Down Government Without Even Passing A Law?
It is happening again. Congress will enact another bloated, pork-laden and largely unread omnibus spending bill to complete formal appropriations for the 2024 fiscal year…
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Op-Eds
Refining the Battle Against High Gas Prices
Everyone knows that <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America imports more than half of the oil it uses, but few are…
Op-Eds
The Rocky Road to Biotech’s Success
The first Earth Day celebration, conceived by then-US Senator Gaylord Nelson, was held in 1970 as a “symbol of environmental responsibility and stewardship.” In the spirit…
Op-Eds
Down in the Dumps
When most people hear the words “illegal dumping,” they probably think of someone using somebody else's trash dumpster without permission. However, in the…
Op-Eds
Time to Get Tough on Telecom Regulatory Reform
The FCC is not subject to any sort of mandatory “three strikes” law as are some criminals. But maybe there is justification for an equivalent…
Op-Eds
Many Talents Needed for FDA Post
The departure of FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan leaves a high-level opening in the Bush administration for the right candidate. It's a hard job, but…
News Release
DAILY DIARY – DEBUNK THE JUNK, APRIL 5, 2004
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Receipts available as a pdf. “A gentleman never…
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