Browse regulations

FDIC mandates stress tests for large state banks (>$250B assets) using FDIC-provided scenarios, with annual/biannual reporting and public disclosure. Grants FDIC broad discretion to modify requirements, extend deadlines, require additional tests, and exempt banks. Tests must assess capital adequacy over 9-quarter horizon under baseline and severely adverse scenarios, with board oversight and reporting by April 5, publication June 15-July 15.

Creates moral hazard by fostering false confidence in bank safety, imposes heavy compliance costs (millions annually) passed to consumers, duplicates Federal Reserve's stress test regime, and destroys market discipline that would more effectively govern risk management.

This regulation implements enhanced prudential standards for large banking organizations under the Dodd-Frank Act, establishing capital requirements, stress testing, and supervisory categories based on asset size and systemic risk.

This regulation represents federal overreach into banking supervision that should be handled at the state level. It imposes massive compliance costs on banks, distorts market incentives, and creates regulatory barriers that protect large incumbents from competition. The unseen costs include reduced lending to small businesses, higher fees for consumers, and misallocation of capital away from productive investments.

Establishes voluntary registration for securities holding companies (those controlling SEC-registered brokers/dealers and already under foreign comprehensive supervision) to become supervised by the Federal Reserve as if they were bank holding companies, with registration effective after 45 days or earlier at Board's discretion.

Creates a redundant federal supervisory layer imposing compliance costs that ultimately burden consumers and investors. The optional scheme masks expansion of regulatory reach, assumes federal oversight prevents systemic risk despite evidence that such interventions create moral hazard and distort market incentives. Existing SEC regulation of brokers/dealers is sufficient; this regulation protects incumbents and raises barriers to entry while adding little to financial stability.

The regulation establishes comprehensive risk-management standards for designated financial market utilities (clearinghouses, settlement systems) under the Dodd-Frank Act, enforced by the Federal Reserve Board. It mandates detailed governance, capital adequacy, stress testing, margin, liquidity, recovery planning, and operational requirements to mitigate systemic risk.

Compliance costs are massive, especially for smaller utilities, raising barriers to entry and entrenching incumbents. Prescriptive rules suppress innovation and create homogeneous risk models, paradoxically increasing systemic fragility. The Fed's revolving-door capture turns regulations into industry favors. Unseen costs far outweigh unproven safety gains that could be achieved through market discipline and simpler oversight.

This OCC regulation requires national banks and federal savings associations with average consolidated assets exceeding $250 billion to conduct annual stress tests using OCC-provided scenarios (baseline and severely adverse) over a nine-quarter planning horizon. Covered institutions must report results to the OCC and Federal Reserve by April 5 and publicly disclose summaries between June 15 and July 15. The OCC retains broad discretion to modify or waive requirements.

Imposes billions in annual compliance costs on the largest banks, which are passed to consumers through higher fees and reduced access to credit. Stress tests create an illusion of safety while encouraging regulatory gaming and perpetuating 'too big to fail,' undermining market discipline and concentrating power in the OCC. The unseen costs include reduced lending, distorted risk incentives, and barriers to competition that harm small businesses and consumers.

Requires meat/poultry establishments to notify FSIS within 24 hours of adulterated/misbranded products entering commerce and maintain recall procedures and records for official review.

Consumers would be worse off if deleted because this regulation ensures rapid response to contaminated food entering the supply chain, preventing widespread foodborne illness outbreaks. The notification requirement creates accountability for establishments that discover contamination, while recall procedures provide a systematic way to remove dangerous products from shelves. Without these mechanisms, consumers would face greater health risks from undetected adulterated products, and there would be no coordinated federal oversight to ensure contaminated food is quickly identified and removed from commerce.

Federal regulation establishing requirements for interstate movement of farmed or captive deer, elk, and moose to prevent spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), including animal identification, certification, and movement permits.

This regulation imposes excessive federal control over intrastate animal movements that should be handled by states, creates costly compliance burdens for small farmers, and represents unconstitutional federal overreach into local agricultural matters under the guise of disease control.

Establishes certification process for Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACUs) to access USDA grant programs. Requires ≥25% Hispanic enrollment plus agriculture degree programs, excludes 1862 land-grants and schools with <15% Hispanic agriculture degrees. Includes appeals and annual recertification mechanisms.

Implements a race-based preference program violating equal protection and Tenth Amendment federalism limits. Creates compliance burdens and perverse incentives for institutions to game demographic thresholds rather than pursue educational excellence. The unseen costs include distorted market competition, regulatory complexity, and entrenchment of identity politics in federal spending—all contradicting founding principles of colorblind, limited government.

USDA program governing transfer of excess computers/technical equipment to rural city/town/local government entities through designated refurbishment organizations. Includes eligibility criteria based on rural definition (<50k population), application procedures requiring letterhead requests and organization agreements, data sanitization requirements, first-come-first-served allocation, and annual reporting to GSA.

Creates unnecessary bureaucracy and compliance burden. USDA must verify eligibility, track transfers, and report to GSA; recipient governments must navigate rules, designate organizations, and maintain records. This federal program duplicates private-market equipment redistribution, distorts secondary markets, and imposes disproportionate costs on small rural governments. Hidden compliance costs exceed any benefits of targeted distribution, violating principles of limited government and equal treatment.

This regulation establishes the framework for designating counties as disaster areas to provide emergency loans and assistance to farmers. It defines the roles of County Emergency Boards, State Emergency Boards, and the State Executive Director in assessing damage, determining qualifying losses, and recommending disaster designations. The regulation also specifies criteria for automatic designations based on U.S. Drought Monitor classifications and outlines the discretionary authority of the Secretary to designate counties even when standard criteria aren't met.

This regulation creates a costly bureaucratic apparatus that federalizes disaster response, which should be handled by states and local governments. The multi-layered review process, emergency boards, and administrative overhead impose significant compliance costs on taxpayers. Federal disaster assistance distorts agricultural markets by encouraging risky farming practices in disaster-prone areas and creates moral hazard. The regulation also expands federal authority into areas that properly belong to states under the Tenth Amendment, undermining federalism principles.

This regulation establishes informal appeal procedures for participants to challenge adverse technical determinations or program decisions made by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It covers various conservation programs under Title XII and others, providing processes for reconsideration, mediation, informal hearings, and further appeals to the FSA county committee or National Appeals Division. Key mechanisms include 30-day appeal windows, agency record maintenance, and defined timelines for decisions.

Deleting this regulation would eliminate due process protections for farmers, ranchers, and other participants in USDA conservation programs. Without a formal appeals process, NRCS could make arbitrary or erroneous decisions without recourse, directly harming individuals who rely on program benefits or face technical determinations affecting their land use. The regulation provides essential accountability and ensures agency decisions are subject to review, which is fundamental to the rule of law and preventing bureaucratic overreach. The procedural costs are minimal compared to the protection against government abuse.

Federal regulation establishing fees for interlibrary loan services and reproduction of materials from the National Agricultural Library, including international copying services and replacement costs for lost/damaged items.

No compelling national interest justifies federal involvement in library fee administration. This creates unnecessary compliance bureaucracy and should be privatized or devolved to states. The revolving door could easily enable regulatory capture over library pricing, distorting access.

Regulation governing election, composition, and administration of USDA Farm Service Agency county and state committees that administer federal farm programs. Includes eligibility rules, election procedures, reporting requirements, and special provisions for socially disadvantaged farmers.

This regulation imposes significant administrative burdens to administer unconstitutional farm subsidy programs. The FSA system violates federalism by federalizing agriculture - a Tenth Amendment state/local power. Compliance costs distort market incentives, benefit incumbents, and include discriminatory identity-based provisions that undermine equal protection. The entire apparatus should be repealed to restore free markets and limited government.

CFPB supplemental ethics regulation for bureau employees covering outside employment restrictions, prohibited securities holdings in supervised entities, and credit/indebtedness limitations to prevent conflicts of interest and appearance of bias.

Prevents explicit corruption and regulatory capture in financial oversight. Without these rules, CFPB employees could own securities in, work for, or be indebted to the very entities they regulate, creating unavoidable conflicts that would undermine the bureau's consumer protection mission. The compliance costs, while real, are minimal compared to the public harm from captured regulators who fail to do their jobs.

This regulation supplements standard executive branch ethics rules for SIGAR employees, requiring prior written approval for outside activities including professional services using official skills, teaching/writing related to duties, roles with prohibited sources, and representation in matters involving the U.S. It mandates detailed applications, certifications about nonpublic information and resource use, and approval by the Inspector General after consultation with counsel and public affairs.

SIGAR's unique mission overseeing Afghanistan reconstruction funds justifies supplemental ethics protections. While adding administrative burden, it prevents conflicts of interest and misuse of nonpublic information in a high-risk context where corruption could undermine reconstruction accountability. Standard executive branch rules provide baseline, but SIGAR-specific provisions address agency-specific vulnerabilities without exceeding what's necessary for its specialized oversight role.