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 week in regulations: Drone settlements and gambling losses
The 2026 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. President Trump got into a feud with the Pope. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from mail standards to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: How to Get What You Want with Josh Bandoch
In this week’s episode we cover AI development in China, how large investors recycle homes, and why permitting reform needs to…
Issues and Insights
After Iran, Trump Needs To Bomb The Administrative State Into Submission
Issues and Insights cites CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews on the release of his new report, the 2026 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments. “The regulatory tax of…
Search Posts
News Release
Study: Consumers Could be Hurt by Federal Regulation of Insurance Industry
Contact for interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 <?xml:namespace prefix = st1…
Op-Eds
Stunting Corporate Growth
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Robert J. Samuelson [op-ed, Dec. 22] dismissed legitimate concerns about the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act…
Op-Eds
The Danger of Too Much Caution
Congress has a long and ignoble history of exaggerated legislative responses to perceived health crises. They seem to be at it again.<?xml:namespace prefix…
Op-Eds
Reid May Lead on Stock Options
In the discussion of winners and losers from Election 2004, one organization that may have suffered a big blow has been overlooked. This…
News Release
FCC to Reconsider Telephone Competition
Contact for Interviews: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> <?xml:namespace prefix…
Op-Eds
It’s the Infrastructure, Stupid: Amtrak, derailed
The news that the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General is deeply concerned about the dangerous state of Amtrak’s railroad infrastructure should come as…
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