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.
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Blog
Regulatory Reform in the 118th Congress: Separation of Powers Restoration Act
The separation of powers is a key aspect of American government. To decentralize power and ensure checks and balances, the Founders divided the federal government…
City Journal
Roll It Back
Medicaid, the federal-state entitlement for the poor, now provides health insurance to more than one in four Americans. Enrollments surged after the Affordable Care Act…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
An Executive Order from the Biden administration made some of the biggest system-level regulatory changes in years. It raises the threshold for “economically significant”…
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News Release
Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption to Get Their Day in Court
Washington, DC, June 11, 2001— The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Consumer Alert will present their case for freedom of speech in alcohol labels…
News Release
Statement from CEI President Fred Smith Regarding New CBO Report on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Washington, DC, May 23, 2001 – The latest figures from the Congressional Budget Office indicating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac receive more than $10…
News Release
Washington’s 10,000 Commandments Place Heavy Burden on American Families
Washington, DC, May 21, 2001 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released the study 10,000 Commandments: An Annual Policy Maker’s Snapshot of the…
News Release
Public Interest Group Criticizes Attack on OMB Nominee
Washington, D.C., March 13, 2001—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is accusing critics of the Administration’s new Office of Management and Budget nominee, John D.
Op-Eds
Tax Cut Fast Track
Virtually everyone agrees that George W. Bush confronts a rapidly weakening economy as he assumes the presi- dency. Cutting marginal tax rates was at the top…
Op-Eds
Tax Reform Can be Everyone’s Agenda
While the marathon presidential election in Florida grinds to a conclusion, in Washington, D.C., members of Congress returned in lame-duck session to finish up this…
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