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: flax revenue and female test dummies
President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. At this point it is uncertain how they would be implemented. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from butterfat testing to…

Blog
Agenda for Congress: Regulation
CEI’s new Agenda for Congress is out now. Each chapter contains pro-market policy recommendations in areas where CEI has expertise. Here are four principles…

Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Automatic brakes and horse protection amendments
Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided near Reagan Airport. President Trump issued an Executive Order to stop all federal…
Search Posts
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…
Op-Eds
Biotechnology Flirts with the Regulators
Biotechnology, like other unfamiliar high tech industries, offers great hopes but arouses even greater fears. Politicians, the record proves, are far more likely to respond to…
Citation
The ‘Competitiveness’ Hoax
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