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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News Release
CEI Report Proposes Legislation to Stop Future Congresses from Exploiting National Crises to Grow Government
WASHINGTON—The United States has been rocked by three major economic crises so far in the 21st century—the 9/11 terror attacks, the 2008 financial crash, and…

Study
The Case for Letting Crises Go to Waste
Executive Summary An Abuse-of-Crisis Prevention Act to reaffirm boundaries of politicians and the legislation they can pass has become necessary to the survival of limited…

Blog
A Brief Outline of a Regulatory Report Card Congress Should Enact
Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so. — Quote frequently attributed to Galileo, that, alas, probably was not his.If I…
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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
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…
Staff & Scholars

Clyde Wayne Crews
Vice President for Policy and Senior Fellow
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation

Ryan Young
Senior Fellow
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform

Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government

Sam Kazman
General Counsel
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance

Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment