Browse regulations

This DoD regulation (32 CFR part 37) establishes procedures for awarding Technology Investment Agreements (TIAs), a special funding mechanism for defense research. TIAs are assistance instruments—either cooperative agreements or other transactions—designed to foster 'civil-military integration' by reducing barriers to commercial firm participation. Key features include: requiring at least 50% non-federal cost sharing; allowing flexible intellectual property terms; permitting reduced administrative/financial requirements compared to standard grants; and requiring greater government programmatic involvement. The regulation governs when TIAs may be used (projects must be research-focused, involve commercial firms, and cannot duplicate existing DoD programs), how they are structured (expenditure-based vs. fixed-support), and award procedures (competitive to the maximum extent practicable).

Americans would be worse off if this regulation were deleted because it uniquely enables DoD to access commercial innovation through flexible, low-burden research partnerships that standard instruments cannot provide. The regulation achieves its goal in a way that would be hard to replicate: by allowing negotiable terms (especially IP) and reduced financial oversight, it attracts commercial firms that would otherwise avoid defense research contracts, while mandatory cost-sharing ensures private skin-in-the-game. Eliminating TIAs would force DoD to rely on either rigid procurement contracts or traditional grants—both impose one-size-fits-all requirements that deter commercial participation, shrink the technology base, and increase administrative costs. The regulation's combination of flexibility and cost-sharing strikes a rare balance: leveraging private capital and expertise without sacrificing accountability, making it a model for smarter government R&D spending.

Mandates drug-free workplace policies for federal grant recipients, requiring drug use prohibition statements, employee awareness programs, reporting of drug convictions, and potential debarment for violations. Applies to DOD grants and other federal financial assistance awards.

Creates costly compliance burdens for grant recipients without proven effectiveness. Imposes unfunded mandates requiring policy creation, training programs, and reporting systems. Punitive debarment provisions create excessive government control over private organizations. States and localities can implement their own workplace policies if desired.

Establishes the Defense Grant and Agreement Regulatory System (DGARS) to provide uniform policies and procedures for DoD's award and administration of grants, cooperative agreements, and technology investment agreements. Sets forth requirements for grants/agreements officers, data reporting to DAADS and USASpending.gov, and compliance with OMB circulars and federal statutes.

Provides essential uniformity and accountability in how DoD administers federal assistance funds. Without these standardized procedures, inconsistent practices across components would lead to waste, non-compliance with transparency laws (31 U.S.C. ch. 61, FFATA), and unfair treatment of recipients. The regulation implements statutory requirements in a coherent framework that prevents arbitrary decision-making while ensuring proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Regulation blocks property of specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs) and their supporters, prohibits U.S. persons from dealing with them, and requires blocked funds to be placed in interest-bearing accounts. Implemented by OFAC under IEEPA to disrupt terrorist financing.

Without this regulation, terrorists and their supporters could freely access the U.S. financial system, making it easier to fund attacks against Americans. It achieves its goal by leveraging the U.S. dollar's global dominance to isolate designated entities economically—a deterrent hard to replace.

Federal regulation governing Series EE savings bonds, including issuance, redemption values, interest rates, maturity periods, and administrative procedures for both paper and electronic bonds.

This regulation represents a federal government intrusion into personal savings and capital markets that should be left to private financial institutions. Government-backed savings bonds distort interest rate markets, create moral hazard by guaranteeing returns with taxpayer funds, and represent a form of central planning that interferes with free market capital allocation.

Regulation establishes that Treasury issues non-transferable securities to selected financial agents as compensation for providing banking services to the government, with interest earnings as payment.

This creates an opaque subsidy mechanism bypassing normal appropriations, enabling the Secretary to reward favored institutions with potentially above-market compensation funded by debt issuance. The broad discretion invites regulatory capture and hides true costs from taxpayers. Simple, transparent fee-for-service contracts would achieve the same objective without the cronyist risk and budgetary obfuscation.

Regulation implements the Drug-Free Workplace Act for Treasury Department grants and cooperative agreements, requiring recipients to publish drug-free statements, establish awareness programs, identify workplaces, and report employee drug convictions within 10 days, with penalties including suspension or debarment.

The regulation imposes a uniform condition on all grant recipients regardless of the grant's purpose, exceeding constitutional limits on federal spending power and creating disproportionate compliance costs for small organizations while duplicating existing criminal prohibitions and potentially chilling employment of rehabilitated individuals.

This regulation establishes a governmentwide system for debarment and suspension of persons from Federal programs, creating a reciprocal exclusion mechanism between procurement and nonprocurement transactions, with procedures for identifying excluded parties through the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS).

Creates massive bureaucratic overhead with $2 trillion annual compliance costs, burdens small businesses disproportionately, enables regulatory capture through complex exclusion procedures, and violates principles of limited government by federalizing what should be state/local matters under the Tenth Amendment.

This regulation establishes procedures for manufacturers to obtain MSHA approval for products used in gassy underground mines through independent laboratory testing or by using non-MSHA safety standards that are equivalent to MSHA requirements. It covers testing protocols, documentation requirements, post-approval audits, and equivalency determinations for international safety standards.

Mine safety in gassy underground environments involves unique explosion risks where regulatory oversight ensures consistent safety standards. Independent laboratory testing and equivalency determinations for international standards actually reduce compliance costs while maintaining safety protection, benefiting both small and large mining operations.

Establishes filing and issuance procedures for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), including methods for paper/electronic submissions, date determination rules, and record retention requirements.

Administrative procedure regulation that merely specifies how to submit paperwork to a federal agency. Creates unnecessary compliance costs and complexity without providing any substantive benefits to Americans. The market and private contracts can handle filing procedures more efficiently.

Temporary bonding requirements for fiduciaries handling the Thrift Savings Fund (federal employee retirement), cross-referencing ERISA's bonding rules until permanent regulations were issued. Sets bond amounts at 10% of funds handled, between $1,000-$500,000, with Secretary of Labor authority to exceed limit after hearing.

This is an expired temporary regulation (effective dates reference 1989-1990) that was meant to bridge to permanent rules under FERSA. It represents regulatory accumulation—outdated provisions that should have been removed once permanent regulations were promulgated. Even if technically still on the books, it serves no current purpose and exemplifies the regulatory cruft that obscures the Code of Federal Regulations.

Interpretive guidance on ERISA fiduciary definitions, indemnification provisions, and administrative procedures for employee benefit plans, clarifying who qualifies as a fiduciary and establishing liability frameworks.

This regulation provides essential clarity for employee benefit plan administration, protecting both plan participants and fiduciaries by establishing clear liability boundaries and permitting reasonable indemnification arrangements that prevent overly risk-averse behavior by plan managers.

This regulation implements whistleblower protection under AIR21 for aviation industry employees who report safety violations or participate in related proceedings. It prohibits retaliation by air carriers, contractors, or subcontractors and establishes complaint, investigation, hearing, and appeal procedures via OSHA and administrative law judges, with remedies including reinstatement, back pay, and damages.

The regulation imposes significant compliance and litigation costs on aviation businesses while duplicating existing safety incentives. Airlines already face strong market, insurance, and liability pressures to maintain safety and would not want to suppress legitimate internal warnings. Unseen costs include: chilling effect on legitimate personnel actions as managers fear retaliation claims; encouragement of frivolous lawsuits despite fee-shifting provisions; expansion of federal bureaucracy into employment relations traditionally reserved to states; and potential perverse incentives where employees use protection to shield poor performance, ultimately compromising safety. Market mechanisms and existing FAA oversight are superior, less costly means to ensure aviation safety.

Regulation implements the Drug-Free Workplace Act for FMCS grant recipients, requiring drug-free workplace policies, employee notification, awareness programs, conviction reporting, and allowing suspension/debarment for violations. Applies to non-individual recipients and individuals differently.

Compliance imposes significant administrative costs on all grant recipients, particularly small nonprofits and local governments, diverting resources from core missions. The reporting and enforcement requirements create a bureaucratic surveillance system, while the debarment penalties are disproportionate. Federal overreach into workplace policy violates Tenth Amendment principles and encourages one-size-fits-all solutions that ignore local contexts and state authority. Unseen costs include reduced participation by qualified individuals with past drug offenses and mission creep enabling agencies to withhold funds for minor infractions.

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) regulation establishing a governmentwide system for debarment and suspension of persons from federal programs, including procedures for exclusion, disqualification, and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS).

Creates unnecessary bureaucratic overhead and compliance costs for businesses while duplicating existing legal mechanisms for fraud and misconduct. The EPLS system imposes disproportionate burdens on small businesses and effectively creates a parallel regulatory system outside traditional judicial processes.