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
News Release
CEI study: Congress should establish limits on regulatory power to ensure agencies are not answering major policy questions
Many of the biggest policy decisions affecting the lives of Americans are made by federal agencies, not Congress. According to a new report from…
Study
Congress, Not Agencies, Should Answer Major Policy Questions
Many of the biggest policy decisions affecting the lives of Americans are made by federal agencies, not Congress. During the Biden administration, this has included…
Blog
Congress should heed GAO’s new regulatory reform recommendations
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a December 2023 report titled “Options for Enhancing Congressional Oversight of Rulemaking and Establishing an Office of Legal…
Search Posts
The Washington Times
Republicans prepare to repeal regulations as Obama racks up record
The Washington Times discusses a regulatory record set by the Obama administration with Wayne Crews. The president is piling up the red tape…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
On November 17, the 2016 Federal Register set an all-time record page count—an impressive feat for a document that has been published continuously since 1936.
Forbes
Obama White House Releases Its Final Regulatory Agenda
The White House has published the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. It’s appearing the weekend before Thanksgiving — yet…
Investor's Business Daily
What’s Really Doable In Trump’s First 100 Days?
Investor's Business Daily discusses rolling back regulation of the Obama administration with Wayne Crews. In the past eight years, Obama has imposed a…
Blog
Counteracting the Midnight Rush of Regulations
Now that the White House will officially be switching parties, the outgoing Obama administration will likely pass as much of its regulatory agenda as quickly…
Blog
Obama’s 2016 Federal Register Just Topped Highest Page Count of All Time
Well that didn’t him take long. President Barack Obama’s Federal Register, the daily depository of rules and regulations, added 572 pages today, and stands at…
Washington Examiner
Obama sets new record for regulations, 527 pages in just one day
Washington Examiner discusses the Obama administration's record breaking regulation year with Wayne Crews. President Obama has just set a new record for rules…
Breitbart
Obama Sets Record, Slams Washington with 527 Pages of Regulations
Breitbart discusses the Obama administration's record breaking regulatory year with Wayne Crews. Obama shattered his old record with the November 17 release, according…
The Washington Free Beacon
Obama Breaks Record for Most Pages of Regulations in Single Year
The Washington Free Beacon discusses Obama's regulatory record breaking year with Wayne Crews. Obama broke his previous 2010 record of 81,405 pages worth…
WND
Obama sets new record for regulations: 527 pages in 1 day
WND speaks with Wayne Crews on President Obama's record-breaking regulatory year. President Obama on Thursday set a record for the most pages of…
Blog
Which of Obama’s Midnight Regulations Will Get Rolled Back?
Yesterday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and every Republican House Committee Chairman sent a one-paragraph letter to all executive agencies cautioning them “against finalizing…
Forbes
Obama’s Midnight Regulations To Get Increased Scrutiny From Congress And Trump
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and other Republican leadership members just sent a letter to Obama administration regulatory agency heads telling them to…
Wall Street Journal
Reversing Rule by Regulation
President Obama spent his final six years in office—and especially the last two—governing largely by executive fiat. He issued executive orders, and his administrative…
The Wall Street Journal
Reversing Rule by Regulation
President Obama spent his final six years in office—and especially the last two—governing largely by executive fiat. He issued executive orders, and his administrative state…
Bloomberg BNA
Will Trump Stand in Way of Regulatory Reform?
Bloomberg BNA speaks with Ryan Young on how the Trump administration and Congress can bring regulatory reform. Trump himself has repeatedly promised to…
Blog
Federal Register Tops 80,000 Pages, 3rd Highest Ever Count
Today’s Federal Register added 572 pages, and stands at 80,562 pages for 2016.
Blog
Congress Should Use REINS Act to Reform Regulation
CEI released a new report today about the REINS Act, which would require Congress to vote on all new executive branch regulations costing more than…
Science Magazine
Trump and next Congress could quickly erase scores of major regulations
Science Magazine speaks with Clyde Wayne Crews on recent significant rules that Congress should consider repealing. One conservative analyst, Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.
Washington Examiner
New push to vet regulations, cut $15,000 ‘hidden tax’ on all households
Washington Examiner highlights Ryan Young's report on the Regulations from Executive Need of Scrutiny Act. The newly influential Competitive Enterprise Institute Tuesday launched…
The Washington Times
Senate moves to rein in regulations, looks to give Congress vote
The Washington Times highlights Ryan Young's report on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. Congress and the president enacted…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Veterans Day made it a short work week, but agencies still filled more than 1,300 Federal Register pages with rules ranging from trailer tires to…
Forbes
Donald Trump And The 115th Congress Could Get Rid Of These 140 Obama Regulations
Many observers are weighing in on the rules and regulations that a new Trump administration might be inclined to eliminate. The Hill, for example, compiled…
Investor's Business Daily
Here’s How The President and Congress Can ‘Rein In’ Regulation
President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald J. Trump have something important in common. They both have a chance to help America's job creators out from…
One News Now
Is a clean slate ahead?
One News Now speaks with Ryan Young on how the Trump administration can lead regulatory reform. With the incoming Trump administration, many people…
Blog
Federal Register Hits 4th Highest Ever Count, Will Top 80,000 Pages Tuesday
Yesterday the Federal Register hit its fifth-highest count of 79,380 pages.
Sun-Sentinel
Five ways President Trump could jump-start economic growth
Too many Americans feel left behind by the weak economic growth and diminished job opportunities under the Obama administration. Too many people have seen their…
Blog
Free Market Opportunities for the Trump Administration
This election has given us one more demonstration that knowledge is dispersed and “trusting the experts” to know the future is foolish. The unexpected success…
Blog
Federal Register Hits 5th Highest Ever Count, Days from All-Time High
We’ve documented here throughout November that the Federal Register is steamrolling through 2016, Obama’s final year.
Forbes
How President-Elect Donald Trump Can Fast-Track Deregulation And Wealth Creation
On this, the day after the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president (yes, he has already updated his Twitter profile), President…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register continued its record pace last week, with Friday’s edition alone having 1,177 pages.
Washington Times
Executive orders, pardons, ‘midnight’ regulations expected as Obama presidency draws to close
The Washington Times discusses the number for federal regulations passed during the Obama administration with Wayne Crews. In 2015, after Republicans won control…
Wall Street Journal
Another Last-Minute Regulation
The Wall Street Journal discusses federal regulations passed during President Obama's final days in office with Wayne Crews. This financial power grab is…
Investor's Business Daily
Memo To The Next President: We Can Grow A Lot Faster
Investor's Business Daily highlights Wayne Crews's annual report on the cost of federal regulations. Dodd-Frank bank reform, the EPA's excessively stringent "Clean Power…
Blog
Federal Register Adds 1,177 Pages, Hits 7th Highest Ever Count
We noted here on November 1 that the Federal Register is on a roll, hitting 76,270 pages, the 8th highest level ever.
Blog
A Federal Register Growth Spurt, Third Day of Record-Breaking Streak
The Federal Register is on a roll. On Friday, it hit 75,314 pages, the 10th highest level of all time, even though more than two…
Washington Times
Obama on pace for a legacy of most red tape
The Washington Times reports on Wayne Crews's blog post on the 2010 Federal Register's page count. The Obama administration is on a course…
Blog
A Monster Federal Register This Halloween
Today, the 2016 Federal Register stands at 75, 670 pages, the 9th highest “yearly” count of all time—but it’s only Halloween.
Blog
5 Scariest Halloween Regulations
Regulatory dark matter is a Washington boogeyman. In 2015, there were 39 regulations for every one law passed by Congress. That’s a lot of rules…
Washington Examiner
Obama set to break red tape record
Washington Examiner reports on Wayne Crews's report on this year's record breaking Federal Register. President Obama's regulatory freight train is crashing through even…
Forbes
Surging Federal Register Of Regulations Cracks Top 10 Fattest Ever–With 2 Months Still To Go
The federal debt isn’t the only thing doubling every few years. Both presidential candidates have declared they will cut mounting regulatory red tape, particularly for…
Watchdog.org
Candidates’ perennial promises to cut regulations rarely pan out
Watchdog.org discusses ways that the next administration can push for regulatory reform with Wayne Crews. Competitive Enterprise Institute Vice President for Policy Clyde…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new federal regulations passed the 3,000 mark last week, and the Federal Register continues its record pace.
Blog
Three Ways the Next President Can Help America Out
At this moment, it’s likely the presidential candidates are busy preparing for the third and final debate tonight.
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 13: Establish ‘Office of No’
Implement a “Do Not Regulate” Office to Clarify Economic Liberalization Alternatives to, and Explicit Exit Strategies from, Command and Control Rules.
The Hill
White House Admits it’s Late Again in Releasing Regulatory Report
The Hill reports on how Wayne Crews called out the White House Office of Management and Budget about it's late report on regulations. …
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Federal regulators enjoyed a short work week due to Columbus Day, but still published more than 1,300 Federal Register pages with new regulations ranging from…
Blog
White House Stalling Regulation Report Until after Election?
Today, Monday, October 17th, marks the latest that the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has ever been with its annual draft Report…
The Hill
Group claims White House delaying regs report until after election
The Hill reports on Wayne Crews's blog post on the late White House Office of Management and Budget's report on regulations. In a…
Wall Street Journal
The Regulatory State May Have Met Its Match in Idaho
The Wall Street Journal highlights Wayne Crews's annual report on the size and cost of federal regulations. The problem in Washington, D.C., is…
Washington Examiner
Obama’s regs cost you a MacBook Pro every year
Washington Examiner discusses Wayne Crews's anaylsis on the Obama administration's record setting rule-making pace. With less than 100 days left in his presidency, the…
Rare
Barack Obama has imposed more regulations than any other president in history
Rare discusses regulation's record breaking year with Wayne Crews. President Barack Obama is on track to impose more regulations than any other American…
Washington Examiner
Obama legacy: Most red tape, regulations ever
Washington Examiner discusses the Obama administration's published regulations with Wayne Crews. Team Obama crossed the 70,000-page mark this week and is on schedule…
The Hill
One way to reduce regulations? Give states the power to reject them.
The Hill mentions Wayne Crews's annual report calculating the cost of federal regulation on the economy. As the Competitive Enterprise Institute has explained, regulations…
Blog
Federal Register Tops 70,000 Pages, Headed for a Major Record
There’s no measure of regulation worse than counting Federal Register pages. But on the other hand, the bureaucracies aren’t exactly bending over backward to disclose…
The Hill
Report: Obama could set record for most rules in 2016
The Hill reports on CEI's tracking of the Federal Register this year. The Obama administration is on pace to make 2016 the busiest…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Register will crack the 70,000-page barrier early this week. New rules found in last week’s 2,000-plus pages range from foreign cars to beetles.
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 12: Acknowledge and Minimize Indirect Costs
This is the 12th entry in a series on how the next president can reduce bureaucracy. Earlier installments have addressed a freeze on rulemaking, the role…
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 10: Account Separately for Economic, Health and Safety, and Environmental Regulations
This is the 10th entry in a series on how the next president can reduce bureaucracy. Earlier installments have addressed a freeze on rulemaking, the role…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a busy week, with Friday’s Federal Register alone containing 52 final regulations and 809 pages.
USA Today
Short-term government built short-term capitalism: John Allison
USA Today highlights Wayne Crews's calculated costs of federal regulations from his annual report. Not to be outdone, President Obama has overseen the…
The Hill
The poor suffer most from runaway regulation
The Hill cites Wayne Crews's calculated cost of federal regulation from his annual Ten Thousand Commandments report. Regulatory costs, which inevitably are passed…
InsideSources
A New President Needs a New Red Tape Agenda
Federal regulators issue thousands of rules and regulations every year. Decrees range from the Environmental Protection Agency’s gargantuan Clean Power Plan and “Waters of the…
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 8: Transparency Report Cards
Improving disclosure and transparency for regulatory output and trends is one area where a new president can unambiguously undertake unilateral initiatives without statutory regulatory reform.
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 7: Track Regulatory Accumulation
This is the seventh entry in a series on how the next president can reduce the scope of bureaucracy. Earlier installments have addressed a freeze on…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Agencies issued more than six dozen new final regulations last week, ranging from minerals to dates.
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 6: Enhance Disclosure in ‘Unified Agenda’
There are rules, and then there are rules. Agencies are supposed to alert the public to their priorities in the semi-annual “Regulatory Plan and Unified…
Washington Post
How Trump would stimulate the U.S. economy
The Washington Post highlights Wayne Crews's calculated cost of federal regulations from his anual Ten Thousand Commandments report. Beyond trade, America’s Gulliver economy…
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 5: Scrutinize Informal ‘Guidance’ Documents
When a new president scrutinizes agency rules as we have called for in this series, he or she also needs to bring “guidance documents” under…
Blog
Response to Prof. Aaron Nielson on ‘Auer Deference’
As I’ve discussed before, there is a robust ongoing debate over the propriety of Article III courts giving binding respect to a regulatory agency’s interpretations…
The Houstonian
$3500 Lemonade Stand: How Government Regulation Stifles Entrepreneurialism
The Houstonian highlights Wayne Crews's annual report on the cost of federal regulations. Regulatory barriers to trade – not only on the federal…
Blog
How A New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 4: Expand Number of Rules Receiving Cost Analysis
The Office of Management and Budget conducts review of some significant or major rules’ cost-benefit analyses, but not quite as many or as deeply as…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Agencies issued 78 new regulations last week, ranging from cherries to dairy.
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 3: Review, Revise, Repeal, and Sunset
Short of the moratorium advocated at the top of this series, and in keeping with the spirit of executive orders and retrospective reviews that agencies…
Blog
Appreciate Checks and Balances on Constitution Day
This Constitution Day marks 229 years since the Framers signed the U.S. Constitution following more than four months of debate, votes, and revisions in Philadelphia.
Forbes
Why Future Federal Communications Commission Oversight Hearings Should Explore Sunsetting the Agency
There’s another Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight hearing underway in the Senate Commerce Committee, with most of the time being spent on doings with…
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 2: Boost Resources and Free Market Staff
If we must take the central, top-down administrative state as a given—and it seems that for the time being the Constitution is not coming to…
News Release
CEI Supports Regulatory Integrity Act
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote on H.R. 5226, the Regulatory Integrity Act, introduced by Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). The…
Blog
How a New President Can Roll Back Bureaucracy, Part 1: Freeze Regulations Temporarily
In today’s economy, talk about regulatory liberalization has become a bit more bipartisan.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Despite a Labor Day-shortened work week, agencies still found time to issue regulations from soap to whales.
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 6)
By shedding light on comparative agency activity, budgeting and simultaneous improved congressional oversight could counter agency overreach.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2016 Federal Register broke the 60,000-page mark last week, and became the 25th-largest edition in the Register’s 81-year history before Labor Day.
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: American Indian, EpiPen, and Free Speech Fiascos
In this episode of RealClear Radio Hour, we discuss the fiascos of government overreach and overregulation—on American Indian reservations, in the EpiPen saga, and with…
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 5)
Benefits, even more so than costs do not lend themselves to measurement by a third party or external observer, and abuse will result from the…
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 4)
This week I began by making the case for the idea of a regulatory cost budget but wanted to spend time exploring looming pitfalls and…
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 3)
Monday in this space, I advocated the idea of a regulatory cost budget but noted there exist looming pitfalls and political traps that could derail…
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 2)
I advocate the idea of a regulatory cost budget but note that there exists looming pitfalls and political traps that could derail it or easily…
Blog
Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 1)
Our case for capping and “budgeting” regulatory costs across federal agencies opens by asserting that that, perhaps apart from certain raw compliance and paperwork burdens,…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In one of their busiest weeks to date, agencies passed more than a hundred new regulations covering everything from rubies to frogs.
Daily Caller
Obama Finalized $100 BILLION Worth Of New Regulations This Year
The Daily Caller discusses the hidden costs of federal regualtions with Wayne Crews. A report by the free market Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
Forbes
The Federal Communications Commission Should Take A Selfie
There are either dozens of federal agencies or hundreds, depending, seemingly, upon the day of the week or whom one asks. The Federal Communications…
Huffington Post
Unfair Policies Drive Up Home Prices
In an article for CNN, Democrat vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine outlines his and Hillary Clinton’s plan to promote fair housing – indeed a…
Blog
Can a New President Cut Regulations Unilaterally?
Both presidential candidates have delivered economic speeches over the past two weeks, and both have at least given a nod to red tape and the…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Friday’s Federal Register was one of the year’s biggest, with 74 agency notices, 4 proposed regulations and 15 final regulations spanning 1,119 pages.
Forbes
How The Next President Can Use Executive Power To Jumpstart Economic Growth On Day One (Part 2)
The Federal Register contained over 7,700 rules and regulations among an all-time-record 73,000 pages the year President Reagan was elected. One response was his Executive…
Forbes
How The Next President Can Use Executive Power To Jumpstart Economic Growth On Day One (Part 1)
After what will have been eight years of debate over executive overreach and Barack Obama’s “pen and phone,” and it will be time for…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
88 new regulations last week, from poultry improvement to nuclear philosophy.
Reason
The Economic Stimulus Perplex: Could Regulation Be the Problem?
Reason cites the calculated cost of federal regulations from Wayne Crews's annual Ten Thousand Commandments report. Perhaps the answer to what ails the…
Daily Signal
Congress Waits for Obama’s Final Regulatory Costs Report, Later Than Usual
The Daily Signal discusses the need for a regulatory budget with Wayne Crews. “The reason this matters to the general public is that we…
Blog
Celebrating Two Great Economists: Bruce Yandle and Julian Simon
I’d like to second my colleague Fred’s birthday wishes for the distinguished economist Bruce Yandle of Clemson University.
Blog
Next Administration Will Have to Try Harder on Regulatory Moratorium
In a speech yesterday to the Detroit Economic Club, Donald Trump proposed a moratorium on new federal regulations.
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