There are several colloquialisms for “paruresis” (par-YOU-ree-sis), one of the newer additions to the growing list of ailments supposedly protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): “pee panic,” “stage fright,” and “urophobia,” among them. No matter one’s term of preference, they all refer to a difficulty or inability to …
The Dodd–Frank financial strangulation statute transferred a portion of the duties once performed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That’s left the FTC to tap its $292 million budget and 1,176 full-time employees for devising stricter regulation of…appliance labels. Specifically, the agency intends …
The House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 15–13, recently approved a proposed moratorium on new regulations in order to spur job creation. The Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act, introduced by Representative Tim Griffin (R–AR), would freeze all new “significant” regulations from being proposed or finalized until unemployment nationally falls …
Not only have federal policies and inefficient permitting slowed oil and gas production, but government hurdles are also having a harmful effect on the mining industry. Speaking earlier this week at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing, Carol Raulston of the National Mining Association said the barriers to entry today are so burdensome …
Defense officials need to rethink the way they award contracts, says Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute. Goure argues that, in its effort to promote competition, the Pentagon has actually convoluted its system and potentially weakened the defense industrial base. Frequent changes to regulations make it difficult for …
We keep hearing that the economy is in a “jobless recovery.” What’s holding American companies back? Why aren’t they hiring more people? High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our economy. And small businesses, which …
Saturday marks the anniversary of the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act, which in 1887 created the first federal regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Although those who created the ICC had no intention of establishing the modern administrative state we now have, the creation of the ICC was …
Stories are powerful. They help us relate to other individuals and communicate complex issues. They are an essential ingredient to making policy change in Washington. That’s why we’re asking for your help. The Heritage Foundation is seeking examples of individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners who have been negatively affected by …
Ranchers have been allowed to stock zoos and wildlife refuges and export the animals to their native lands without seeking government approval at every turn. The agency also allowed them to generate some of the revenue needed to feed and vaccinate the herds by holding private hunts of surplus, older, non-breeding animals, as well as those with poor genetic traits. But such “profiteering”—even in support of animal rescue—was anathema to Friends of Animals, a group that claims “to cultivate a respectful view of nonhuman animals.”