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
The rules Congress never gets to see
The 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) has been used to overturn only a few dozen federal regulatory directives since its enactment, most during the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Waters of the United States and ASCII formatting
The country reflected on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Trump promised a $5,000 check to every American adult…
Blog
The week in regulations: Honey taxes and airline delays
August’s job numbers were better than expected. President Trump threatened to cut off trade to all nations that export more to America than they…
Search Posts
Politico
De-Reg Event Prep
Politico’s Morning Money covers Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Wayne Crews has updated numbers on the Trump administration’s de-regulation…
Reason
Trump at 9 Months: ‘The Least Regulatory President of All’
Reason covers Trump’s regulatory track record and cite’s Wayne Crews’ “Red Tape Rollback Report.” The most underreported story (except here at Reason!) about President…
The Washington Times
Trump ‘Least Regulatory’ President
The Washington Times discusses President Trump’s regulatory track record with Wayne Crews. “President Trump is the least regulatory president since Ronald Reagan. His administration has only proposed…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Supporting No Regulation Without Representation Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Representatives: We, the undersigned organizations representing millions of Americans, write to express gratitude to Congressman Jim…
Blog
Cut Red Tape and Save Lives by Regulating Tobacco Alternatives Based on Risk
At the beginning of the year, President Trump issued an Executive Order aimed at cutting red tape. The order directs federal agencies to set…
Blog
Bank Regulatory Relief in Time for White House ‘Deregulation Day’
Happy Deregulation Day! Today, the Trump administration is celebrating the benefits of an America liberated from red tape. As I mentioned in a blog…
Staff & Scholars
Clyde Wayne Crews
Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies
- Business and Government
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- 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