Browse regulations

This regulation establishes procedures for obtaining information and records from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including request submission, processing, fees, and exemptions.

FOIA access is essential for government transparency and accountability. Without these procedures, citizens would have no systematic way to obtain public records from OSHRC, undermining the public's ability to monitor occupational safety enforcement and administrative decisions.

This 28 CFR regulation governs Bureau of Prisons inmate classification and program review procedures, including obsolete Youth Corrections Act (repealed 1984) provisions and detailed Central Inmate Monitoring (CIM) systems for special management cases like witnesses, gang members, and high-profile inmates.

Blends obsolete YCA procedures (statutory repeal acknowledged) with excessive micromanagement of prison administration. Detailed mandates on notice periods, review frequencies, report contents, and program participation create bureaucratic burdens that divert resources from core penological functions while reducing necessary institutional flexibility. The regulation represents regulatory debris that inflates compliance costs without demonstrable safety or rehabilitative benefits.

Two regulations: (1) ITVERP reimburses U.S. nationals for international terrorism victimization expenses outside the U.S.; (2) VOCA grants fund state victim assistance programs with 40% directed to priority categories (sexual assault, spousal abuse, child abuse) and 10% to underserved victims.

These programs provide critical victim support services that would be difficult to coordinate through private markets, especially for international terrorism victims and underserved crime victims who lack alternative resources.

This regulation implements the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act, establishing procedures for filing and processing claims for death, disability, and educational assistance benefits. It covers definitions of covered officers and injury types, time limits, filing and notice rules, and eligibility restrictions to prevent duplicate benefits.

The program represents a federal welfare overreach that should be handled by private insurers or local governments. It creates moral hazard, crowds out market-based risk pricing, incurs administrative bloat, and erodes state and local responsibility for their employees' compensation and safety.

This regulation, rooted in the 1937 Reindeer Act, restricts ownership and transfer of Alaskan reindeer exclusively to Alaska Natives and Native organizations, while imposing strict controls on non-Natives, including permit requirements, breeding restrictions, and mandatory slaughter/export of any reindeer acquired by non-Natives. It mandates reporting, earmarking of imported reindeer, and government oversight of inheritance and transfers.

This regulation enforces racial discrimination in property rights under the guise of cultural preservation, violating equal protection principles and free market norms. It creates artificial scarcity, stifles economic opportunity for non-Natives, and imposes costly compliance burdens with no justifiable public benefit. The original intent of protecting Native livelihoods is obsolete in modern Alaska, where reindeer husbandry is a minor activity best governed by state law and voluntary association, not federal racial quotas. The regulation is a relic of paternalistic Indian policy and imposes unseen costs by locking capital out of a legitimate agricultural sector.

HUD regulation requiring prior federal approval for public housing agencies to demolish or dispose of public housing units, with extensive procedural requirements including resident consultation, right of first refusal for resident organizations, environmental reviews, and local government coordination.

Federal micromanagement of local public housing decisions imposes massive compliance costs, violates Tenth Amendment federalism principles, and creates bureaucratic barriers that prevent PHAs from efficiently managing housing assets. The regulation's resident purchase rights distort market allocation, while the approval process adds $14,000+ per household in hidden compliance costs. PHAs closest to the communities should control their own assets without federal meddling.

Requires U.S. employees of the International Boundary and Water Commission to comply with federal ethics, financial disclosure, financial interests, and employee conduct regulations under 5 CFR parts 2635, 2634, 2640, and 735.

These are generic executive branch standards already universally applied to all federal employees; enforcing them specifically for this agency adds redundant compliance burden without enhancing integrity or accountability, and entrenches federal control over a function that could be handled by state or private actors under international treaty.

This regulation implements the Government in the Sunshine Act for the Inter-American Foundation, establishing requirements for public observation of Board meetings while providing specific exemptions for national security, privacy, law enforcement, and other sensitive matters. It mandates advance notice, recorded votes for closing meetings, and transcript maintenance for closed sessions.

Americans would be worse off if this transparency requirement was deleted because it ensures public oversight of government decision-making at the Inter-American Foundation. The Sunshine Act prevents secret meetings where taxpayer money is allocated and policies are decided, reducing corruption risk and enabling citizens to understand how their government operates. The specific exemptions for national security, privacy, and law enforcement protect legitimate confidentiality needs while maintaining broad public access to most government proceedings.

Mandates that the Secretary of State and DHS preserve all Convention records (intercountry adoption documents) for a minimum of 75 years from the date of first record generation/receipt, covering adoptions involving the U.S. and certain foreign-to-Foreign cases where U.S. agencies perform Central Authority functions.

The 75-year retention period is arbitrary and imposes excessive storage costs, data security burdens, and privacy risks with no demonstrated marginal benefit. Federal involvement in adoption record-keeping exceeds constitutional limits—adoption is traditionally a state domain under the Tenth Amendment, not a legitimate federal function. The regulation entrenches bureaucratic overreach while creating compliance costs that fall on taxpayers and potentially private parties, violating principles of limited government and subsidiarity.

This regulation implements the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, establishing procedures for issuing Hague Adoption Certificates and Custody Declarations, defining authorized entities, and setting requirements for child background studies, home studies, consents, and adoption processes to ensure ethical intercountry adoptions and prevent child trafficking.

This regulation creates a complex bureaucratic framework that federalizes what should be state-level adoption matters, imposing costly compliance burdens on families and agencies while potentially delaying adoptions. The extensive documentation requirements and centralized approval process create barriers to adoption that harm children in need of families, while the federal oversight duplicates existing state protections and constitutional adoption authority.

This regulation implements the Intercountry Adoption Act and Hague Convention by establishing a mandatory accreditation/approval system for agencies and persons providing intercountry adoption services. It designates accrediting entities (non-profits or governmental), sets standards, requires fees, creates oversight mechanisms including a Complaint Registry, and requires a primary provider in each case.

The regulation imposes significant compliance costs on adoption service providers, passed to families, making intercountry adoption less accessible, especially for lower-income households. It creates barriers to entry that protect incumbent agencies from competition, reduces market innovation, and centralizes authority in the State Department, violating federalism. The accreditation system provides a false sense of security while reducing transparency and accountability through bureaucratic oversight. The unseen consequence is fewer adoptive families and potentially more children remaining in institutional care, contrary to children's best interests.

Requires U.S. citizens to possess a valid passport for international entry/exit, with specific exemptions for military personnel, certain border travelers, trusted travelers, Native Americans, children under 19 in groups, and others under defined conditions.

This regulation imposes a de facto tax on free movement, violating the natural right to travel. The stated purpose of identification and security is already achievable through less restrictive means: biometric databases, pre-screened traveler programs, and state-issued IDs. The passport requirement creates artificial barriers for low-income citizens, burdens small businesses and family travel, and enables bureaucratic overreach—all while failing to meaningfully enhance security. The exemptions further demonstrate the rule is arbitrary and inconsistently applied.

Procedures for collecting debts owed to the U.S. Department of State, including administrative offset, wage garnishment, salary deductions, compromise, and referral to collection agencies, with due process requirements and interest/penalties on delinquent debts.

These procedures provide essential mechanisms for recovering taxpayer funds from individuals and entities who owe money to the government, ensuring accountability and preventing losses to public resources.

Establishes procedures for notifying individuals of overpayments from the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund, including rights to contest and request waivers based on fault, equity, and hardship. Sets standards for waiver eligibility, burden of proof, and appeals to the Foreign Service Grievance Board.

Deletion would remove due process protections for federal employees facing overpayment recovery, leaving them vulnerable to arbitrary or harsh collection. The regulation balances legitimate government interests with individual rights through clear, constrained standards—ensuring fairness and preventing abuse in a way that informal processes could not reliably replicate.

Regulates retail and mail-order sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine to prevent methamphetamine production. Requires ID verification, logbooks, purchase limits (3.6g daily/7.5g 30-day), behind-the-counter storage, employee training, DEA self-certification ($21 fee), and monthly reporting.

Imposes massive hidden costs ($14,000+ per household) through compliance burdens that fall disproportionately on small businesses. Creates invasive surveillance of medicine purchases violating privacy. Constitutionally questionable federal overreach into state police powers. Unseen consequences include reduced access for rural/elderly patients, driving consumers toward more dangerous alternatives, and suppressing legitimate commerce. The $21 fees and recordkeeping mandates represent a direct violation of voluntary exchange principles, treating all citizens as suspects. Marginal meth reduction benefits cannot justify these Liberty-destroying costs.