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
Regulatory reform takes all three branches
Over at The Hill, Wayne Crews and I argue that regulatory reform requires all three branches of government. Not only is a healthy separation…
Blog
What the DOGE debates really reveal
Last week I took part in a point/counterpoint on the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), making a brief case for its mission and…
Blog
The week in regulations: Medical devices and tuna
President Trump proposed a 100 percent tariff on foreign movies, and reopening Alcatraz. The US and UK announced a trade deal. The Vatican named a new…
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News Release
FCC to Reconsider Telephone Competition
Contact for Interviews: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> <?xml:namespace prefix…
Op-Eds
It’s the Infrastructure, Stupid: Amtrak, derailed
The news that the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General is deeply concerned about the dangerous state of Amtrak’s railroad infrastructure should come as…
News Release
The Battle over Interstate Wine Shipments
Full complaint available as a pdf. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today in the case of…
News Release
Bracing for e-prohibition on wine?
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact for interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Richard Morrison,…
Op-Eds
Will Reid Lead On Stock Option?
In the discussion of winner sand losers from Election 2004, one organization that may have suffered a big blow has been…
Study
Threats to Competitiveness in a Political Environment
Full Document Available in PDF This essay may seem depressing, but…
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