Pork producers are speaking out against legislation that would give federal regulators the authority to mandate cage sizes for egg-laying hens. They’re worried it could lead to a slippery slope that increases red tape for farmers on a range of issues. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), would impose costs between $4 billion and $10 billion on farm production, according to industry estimates. The legislation requires conventional cages to be replaced with new colony housing for hens — about double their normal size. Among the bill’s other requirements: …
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 an inadvertent first step toward the federal leviathan that governs us today. The ICC was originally created to address growing problems created by the expansion of railroads in America. It was the outgrowth of the “Granger” movement, which took hold …
A District of Columbia city council member is calling on the city’s taxicab commission to allow competition to its “mediocre and unreliable” taxi services in the wake of a sting operation aimed at shutting down an innovative car service that officials say violates a number of city laws. If current law prohibits such competition, stated Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), the law should be amended to allow for “improve[d] transportation options for residents and visitors alike.” Cheh’s statement comes days after city officials conducted a sting operation on Uber, an …
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.”
Hindsight is supposed to be 20/20, but looking back on the past 12 months, it’s tough to see any sense in many of the Administration’s regulatory missteps. Of course, there are bound to be a few howlers when government churns out more than 3,500 rules in a year, including dozens unleashed by Obamacare, Dodd–Frank, and the perpetually errant Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But by any standard, 2011 brought forth a remarkable number and variety of regulatory blunders. Fair warning: Our Top 10 list may prove fatal to any bit of …
The EPA’s analysis of the new mercury rule (the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology, or Utility MACT) is yet another example of regulatory bait-and-switch. The rule refers to mercury but really targets CO2, and it generates its purported benefits from reducing particulates that are already covered by other regulations. For an excellent and revealing analysis of the EPA calculations, see Anne E. Smith’s technical comments. The EPA claims this rule would produce $53 billion to $140 billion in annual benefits, but at most $6 million of the benefits come from …
It’s rather remarkable, really, how willing federal bureaucrats are to block business deals that they speculate will cause price hikes and yet give nary a thought to foisting more than a trillion dollars annually in regulatory costs on the public. That’s one takeaway from the news that AT&T has scrapped its proposed $39 billion acquisition of struggling T-Mobile USA (from Deutsche Telekom AG) after a bruising nine-month battle with the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. Bureaucrats at both agencies concluded that the deal could (maybe, perhaps) hurt …
President Barack Obama loves to talk about “teaching moments” (so much so that a member of his own party in Congress has criticized him for it.) The latest lesson the Obama Administration is trying to teach? That its overregulation isn’t costly or unusual, despite all evidence to the contrary. Today’s Wall Street Journal takes that assertion head on. Here are three key takeaways: 1) The White House is picking and choosing numbers in order to understate its regulatory record. The WSJ reports that, according to an analysis of the Federal Register …
America’s $15 trillion debt is soaring. Some 13.3 million Americans are unemployed. The economy is stagnant. Regulations are weighing down job creation. But hey, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are taking action to truly set America back on the right path: They’re making sure that television commercials aren’t too loud! CNN reports: Television commercials that are a lot louder than the program will be prohibited under rules adopted Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission. “Under our new rules, TV providers must ensure that the average loudness of commercials will …
Congress rarely considers a bill that would change the way Washington works. But this is exactly what the Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would do. The REINS Act (H.R.10) would require Congress to approve all “major” regulations—those costing $100 million or more annually—before they take effect. On December 7, it passed the House of Representatives by an impressive vote of 241–184. It is now headed for consideration in the Senate. The Current Process Currently, Congress passes laws with overly broad or intentionally vague statutory language. …
