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
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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…
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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…
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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 Wall Street Journal
Trump, the Six Billion Dollar Man*
The Wall Street Journal cited CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews regarding the Trump administration’s regulatory reform efforts. History shows that when a new President…
The Washington Times
Republicans Giving the Boot to Obama’s Onerous Regulations
The Washington Times cited the Clyde Wayne Crews on the overextension of government regulation and the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s findings of the extreme cost of…
The New York Times
Congress Approves First Big Dodd-Frank Rollback
The New York Times cited CEI’s John Berlau on the limitations of current deregulatory reforms in disassembling the Dodd-Frank Act, which burdens consumers, investors, and…
Op-Eds
Do-er/Thinker Alliances: How Capitalists Can Defend Capitalism
The Fraser Institute of Canada just released a new book called Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the Effects of an Aging Population. The book contains a series of 10…
InsideSources
Government Report Breaks Down Taxpayer Funded Union Hours
InsideSources cited Trey Kovacs on the irony and need for getting rid of “official time” where union officials are paid with tax-payer dollars while conducting…
Reason
Congress Just Voted to Repeal a Few Bits of Dodd-Frank
Reason cited John Berlau on the boon to small banks in being able to provide financial relief to Americans that is occuring with deregulation of…
Blog
Trump Maintains a One-In, Five-Out Pace for Rules and Regulations
How many deregulatory actions have been taken so far in the Trump administration? Along with 16 congressional “resolutions of disapproval” of existing Obama-era regulations—another…
Blog
Federal Deregulation Can Exceed What Gets Reported in Unified Agenda
In tracking the Trump administration’s regulatory vs. deregulatory actions, there can be discrepancy between the official Unified Agenda compilation (the tally that’s been around…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a relatively slow week, with 44 proposed regulations and 62 final regulations, though the Supreme Court did rule the federal ban on…
Blog
Fraser Institute Confronts Changing Demographics of Entrepreneurship
As my colleague Christine Hall reported earlier this week, our Canadian think tank friends at the Fraser Institute have a new book out…
Blog
Did You Hear the One about the Entrepreneur?
When putting together a chapter on entrepreneurship and regulation for the Fraser Institute’s new book “Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the Effects of an Aging…
The Hill
How Trump Can Build on Regulatory Reform: Borrow From Reagan’s Playbook
The Hill cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the cost which federal regulations pass onto consumers. One of the most successful policy achievements…
Blog
Red Tape Discourages Entrepreneurs, CEI Expert Explains in Fraser Institute Book
Today, the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, released a new book on worldwide barriers to entrepreneurship, Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the…
The Daily Mail
The Race Is On for Slice of Lucrative US Gambling Pie
The Daily Mail cited Michelle Minton on the conditions which observers ought expect will rise across different states concerning the management and taxation of online…
Op-Eds
Next-Level Prosperity: Explaining And Reversing Declining Entrepreneurship Rates
One of the consequences of aging populations in the West that may sometimes not be fully incorporated into public policy is that the pool of folks inclined…
Watchdog
U.S. Supreme Court Opens Door For States To Allow Sports Betting
Watchdog cited Michelle Minton on the financial benefits to states on the deregulation of online sports betting, and on the stained-glass landscape which people should…
The Hill
The Flip Side of Tax Reform: Federal Spending Reform
The Hill cited Clyde Wayne Crews on the annual cost which federal regulations impose on Americans, the cost of which amounts to ten percent of our…
SFGate
Trump, Top Car Executives Meet Amid Struggle Over Climate Rules for Automobiles
SFGate cited Myron Ebell on the need for diversification in motor vechicle standards in order to suit the diverse needs of Americans living across the…
Natural Product Insider
‘Made in the USA’ Claims: Handle With Care
Natural Product Insider cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the financial benefits to businesses caused by deregulation during the Trump Administration so far. …
Blog
Friendly Mentions for ‘10,000 Commandments’ Study
Here at the Competitive Enterprise Institute we’re happy to see the attention being received by the 25th anniversary edition of Wayne Crews’ popular study of…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big news from the last week was the release of the spring edition of the twice-yearly Unified Agenda, which lists all planned agency regulations…
The Washington Examiner
Trump’s Transition Chiefs Urge Him to Stay the Course On Auto Rollback
The Washington Examiner cited Myron Ebell in his signing a joint letter to the president urging him to stay on course in reforming auto emissions…
Investor's Business Daily
Spending Reform: The Flip Side of Federal Tax Reform
IBD cited Wayne Crews on just how much of a tremendous burden is being imposed upon the national economy by federal regulations. We…
InsideSources
Fed Labor Board Looks to Undo Obama-Era Rule
InsideSources cited Trey Kovacs on the importance how the National Labor Relations Board new joint employer rulemaking will benefit businesses and workers by aiding to…
News Release
Net Neutrality Regulations Are Not Neutral, Harm Innovators and Consumers
A group of Senators are pushing for a vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commissions’ (FCC) Restoring Internet…
Blog
Trump Administration Regulatory Agenda Released
Today the Trump administration released the Spring 2018 edition of the twice-yearly Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, accompanied…
Blog
‘10,000 Commandments’ in the News
The 25th anniversary edition of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s regulatory reform study “10,000 Commandments” has received a warm welcome since it was released…
4-traders
More than 50 Members, Stakeholders Call on Admin to Scrap Obama Mineral Withdrawals
4-traders cited the work of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in pressing reviews of Obama-era mineral withdrawals which were implemented without due consideration for the local…
The State Journal-Register
Point: In The Name Of Safety, They Should Allow Testing Of Driverless Cars On Their Roads
The State Journal-Register cited Marc Scribner about how local jurisdictions are not qualified to determine the legality of driverless cars and that their lack of…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It is now May, and still only one economically significant regulation (costing $100 million or more per year) has been issued this year. With the…
Blog
Sen. Lankford Headlines Mercatus Event on Regulation and Opportunity
Recently the Mercatus Center hosted an excellent panel discussion on the effects of regulation on entrepreneurs and the poor. I was excited to see…
Politico
House SNAP Overhaul Could Take a Decade to Implement
Politico cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on its role in urging upon changing the House farm bill to tackle runaway rates of federally promoted farm…
Blog
Dueling Calculations for the Cost of Federal Regulation
Recently here at CEI, we’ve been celebrating the release of the 25th anniversary edition of our major report on the costs of government regulation,…
E&E News
Key Obama Climate Orders Still On the Books
E&E News cited Myron Ebell on the inefficiencies of the Trump administration in rescinding executive orders dating from the Obama administration which hold strong implications…
The American Spectator
From The Heartland — Celebrate Small Business Week the Right Way
The American Spectator cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute about federal overregulation in not only the immense financial burden however also includes the plethora of rules…
Blog
Regulatory Reform in Congress
While the president’s initial flurry of executive orders enacting some regulatory reforms was a pleasant surprise, the next president can undo them with the stroke…
Blog
Long History for ‘10,000 Commandments’ on Capitol Hill
The 25th anniversary of CEI’s flagship study on federal regulation, “10,000 Commandments”, has been getting a lot of attention recently. We’re always happy when…
Blog
How to Encourage Tech Competition: Deregulate Finance
It’s May Day, and in the pages of the New York Times appears a paean to the halcyon days of the 1930s, urging a…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new final regulations passed the 1,000 mark last week, with new rules ranging from sending mail to human reliability programs.
Blog
Visualizing the Burden of Federal Regulation
The Competitive Enterprise Institute recently released the 25th anniversary edition of Wayne Crews’ widely-cited study “10,000 Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State.”…
Blog
Some Context for the Astronomical Cost of Government Regulation
Since any number with that many zeroes and commas in it is difficult for the human mind to process, let’s put it in a more…
Reason Magazine
Trump’s Regulatory Slowdown Is Real
Reason Magazine discusses the deregulatory actions of the Trump administration and Ten Thousand Commandments, CEI’s assessment of the size of the regulatory state.
Washington Examiner
Here’s a Reason for Libertarians to Love Trump
The Washington Examiner profiles Ten Thousand Commandments: CEI’s vice president for policy, Clyde Wayne Crews, cheered the current administration for cutting back…
The Hill
When a Bureaucrat Asks for Less Power, Give it to Him
Former Congressman Mick Mulvaney is now a bureaucrat — so he proclaimed at a Congressional hearing on April 18. The acting director of…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big news this week was the release of the 2018 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments. Agencies continued to provide fodder for next years edition…
Blog
Lessons for Congress from ‘10,000 Commandments’: Regulatory Budgets
One of the lessons learned from this year’s “10,000 Commandments” study is that Congress needs to be more involved in the regulatory process. It needs…
Blog
The Changing Face of Selling Liberty Online
We’ve been publishing and promoting the study for many years, and our strategies and methods have changed as the years have gone by. When we…
USA Today
Trump is Cutting Through Regulations, but Only Congress Can Make it Last
Eventually, politicians will be forced to get spending and deficits under control, but regulatory reforms are just as important to keep the economy growing and…
Blog
‘10,000 Commandments’ at 25: What Have We Learned, What’s to Come?
Wayne Crews has ably documented the regulatory state for twenty-five years and running. But what will the next twenty-five years of “10,000 Commandments” look like?…
Blog
The Cost of Washington’s ‘10,000 Commandments’
Federal regulation cost Americans $1.9 trillion in 2017, or nearly $15,000 per U.S. household—more than Americans spend on any category in their family budget except…
Staff & Scholars
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Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/IMG_9141-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Ryan Young
Senior Economist
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Smith_Fred-Final-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/IMG_8717-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
![](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/IMG_8422-scaled-500x500-c-default.jpg)
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment