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
Do more deregulation in debt limit deal
The internal GOP debate this week is over lower-case “d” default if a June 6 deadline for an increase in the debt limit is…

Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Transparency for government, privacy for people with Brian Hawkins
In this week’s episode we talk discuss Tim Carney’s view on why big government is good for big business, Stone Washington on the…

Blog
Let’s get this huge ‘hidden tax’ of regulation out into the open
Smack dab in the middle of contentious debt limit negotiations, the House Budget Committee held another in its series of hearings on American economic growth,…
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Publication
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…
Publication
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…
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