Browse regulations

Establishes the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board as an independent agency to investigate safety events at Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities, with powers to conduct formal investigations, issue subpoenas, and make safety recommendations to ensure public health and protection against catastrophic risks.

Deletion would eliminate independent oversight of nuclear weapons facilities where catastrophic risks to millions justify specialized regulatory scrutiny; the Board's narrow mandate addresses a unique domain where market forces and internal DOE oversight are insufficient due to national security secrecy and extreme externalities.

This regulation establishes four farm disaster assistance programs (ELAP, LFP, LIP, TAP) authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. It defines eligibility criteria, payment limitations ($125,000 per program year, AGI cap of $900,000), administration by the Farm Service Agency, and compensation for livestock, honeybee, fish, and tree losses due to adverse weather or disease. It includes extensive definitions of eligible livestock, loss conditions, and detailed rules for calculating payments.

These programs violate core principles of liberty and limited government by forcibly redistributing wealth from taxpayers to farmers. They create severe moral hazard—encouraging risky agricultural practices and overproduction because losses are socialized. The price signals that would otherwise guide resource allocation in agriculture are distorted, preventing market corrections and keeping unprofitable operations afloat. The regulatory complexity imposes significant compliance costs on both farmers and bureaucrats, while the $900k AGI limit and payment caps arbitrarily pick winners and losers. Constitutionally, these programs represent an improper federal intrusion into what should be state and private matters under the Tenth Amendment. The unseen consequences include inflated land prices, reduced innovation in risk management, and dependency on government support that ultimately makes American agriculture less resilient and competitive.

Regulation governing Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), federal farm subsidy programs providing income support to producers of covered commodities (wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, peanuts, etc.) when revenues fall below benchmarks or prices fall below reference levels. Establishes base acres, payment yields, election procedures, and complex payment formulas administered by USDA's Farm Service Agency.

This wealth transfer program distorts agricultural markets, inflates land prices, and creates dependency on government payments. The complex compliance burden falls disproportionately on small farmers while large agribusiness captures most benefits. Federal involvement in agriculture violates Tenth Amendment federalism. Unseen costs include reduced economic efficiency, higher consumer food prices, and moral hazard that shields farmers from market risks, preventing prudent resource allocation.

USDA regulation implementing the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, prohibiting age discrimination in all programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. It requires recipients to sign assurances, maintain records, submit to compliance reviews, and establishes complaint procedures with enforcement through funding termination. Includes exceptions for actions necessary to normal operation or statutory objectives.

Infringes on state sovereignty by commandeering local programs through the spending power, imposing substantial hidden compliance costs that drain resources from core services. The regulation's chilling effect on legitimate age-based distinctions (youth programs, senior services) and federal overreach beyond enumerated powers outweigh any marginal benefits. States and market forces are superior mechanisms for addressing discrimination without centralized mandates.

Comprehensive regulation establishing standards for preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse in ICE immigration detention facilities, covering definitions, supervision, searches, disability access, hiring practices, facility design, investigations, training, and victim support services.

This regulation addresses serious human rights violations in detention facilities where vulnerable populations lack basic protections. Without these standards, detainees would face increased risk of sexual abuse with no accountability mechanisms, no trained staff, and no victim support services.

Establishes DHS procedures for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information in accordance with Executive Order 13526, including classification authority, derivative classification, declassification processes, and handling requirements.

This regulation implements a core federal function—protecting classified national security information whose disclosure could cause identifiable damage to national security. The potential harm from compromised intelligence sources, methods, or defense information far outweighs administrative compliance costs. Classification authority rests appropriately with the federal government under its constitutional power to provide for the common defense, not with states.

Establishes FOIA procedures for the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, including request requirements, response timelines, fee structures, and appeal processes.

Deletion would eliminate transparent, standardized public access to commission records, undermining accountability for decisions affecting military compensation and retirement systems. The regulation's procedural framework—defined timelines, fee waivers, and appeals—creates predictable oversight that ad-hoc processes cannot reliably provide.

This regulation establishes expedited MSPB appeal procedures for VA employees facing removal or transfer based on performance or misconduct, with strict 21-day decision deadlines and limited appeals rights.

Creates a two-tier justice system for VA employees with artificially expedited timelines that undermine due process rights, while the $2 trillion regulatory compliance burden shows how federal rules create hidden costs and inefficiencies throughout government operations.

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the exclusive government-administered charitable fundraising program for federal employees, operating Sept 1-Jan 15. It uses Local Federal Coordinating Committees (LFCCs), a Central Campaign Administrator (CCA), and fees paid by charities. Charities must meet strict criteria (e.g., 15-state service requirement, 501(c)(3) status) to be listed. OPM oversees the program with authority to audit, sanction, and resolve disputes.

The program imposes unnecessary regulatory burdens on charities through fees and complex eligibility requirements, creates a government monopoly on workplace solicitation that restricts donor choice and charity access, and represents a non-core government function that drains resources from actual charitable purposes. The unseen costs include bureaucratic overhead, distorted charitable marketplace, and subtle workplace coercion despite 'voluntary' rules.

Implements phased retirement for federal employees, allowing retirement-eligible workers to continue part-time employment while receiving partial annuities, with complex rules for eligibility, benefits computation, and transition to full retirement.

Creates a costly administrative burden with complex compliance requirements that distort labor markets and provides special benefits to federal employees not available to private sector workers, while the unseen costs include reduced workforce productivity and higher taxpayer expenses.

Regulation adopts OMB's Uniform Administrative Requirements (2 CFR part 200) for the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, giving regulatory effect to those guidelines for the Council's activities.

Duplicative regulation that imposes OMB's already-burdensome administrative requirements on the Council without improvement; such internal procedural rules should be accomplished through agency guidance rather than regulation to minimize regulatory volume and compliance costs.

Adopts OMB's Uniform Administrative Requirements (2 CFR part 200) for ONDCP's federal award programs and supplements it with ONDCP-specific provisions, imposing administrative and compliance obligations on grant recipients.

Compliance imposes significant hidden costs on grantees—especially smaller organizations—diverting resources from substantive drug control to bureaucratic paperwork. The unseen effect is reduced participation and innovation in federal drug policy, as local actors must conform to one-size-fits-all administrative mandates that distort program design to satisfy federal process rather than outcomes.

This regulation adopts OMB guidance for federal grant administration and establishes rules for faith-based organizations contracting with federal grantees, plus open licensing requirements for competitive grants.

These regulations create costly compliance burdens for federal grants and impose federal mandates on state/local grant administration. The faith-based provisions entangle government with religion, while open licensing requirements add bureaucratic overhead without clear public benefit. States and localities should manage their own grant programs without federal micromanagement.

NEH adopts OMB's Uniform Guidance (2 CFR part 200) for administering federal grants, providing regulatory effect to OMB guidance and supplementing it as needed for NEH-specific requirements.

Federal funding of humanities violates Tenth Amendment principles of federalism, creating dependency and distorting the field. The administrative burden on grantees—compliance costs, reporting requirements, and audit standards—represents a hidden tax that could be avoided if this function were returned to states, private philanthropy, or the free market. Even if NEH existed, standardizing rules through OMB guidance fails to eliminate the underlying costs of federal micromanagement.

Regulation incorporates OMB's Uniform Guidance (2 CFR part 200) into NEA regulations, giving regulatory effect to the guidance and supplementing it for NEA-specific needs.

Redundant regulatory layer increasing compliance costs for arts organizations; NEA can follow OMB guidance through internal policy and grant terms without separate CFR rulemaking, achieving same oversight with less federal regulatory burden.