Browse regulations

This regulation implements electronic filing requirements for service contracts between ocean common carriers and shippers under the Shipping Act of 1984. It specifies procedures, required contract terms, certification, record-keeping, and confidentiality, enabling the Federal Maritime Commission to review contracts for compliance with the Act.

Deletion would prevent the FMC from systematically monitoring service contracts for anticompetitive practices and compliance with the Shipping Act, undermining fair competition in ocean shipping. The regulation's structured electronic filing and confidentiality balance transparency with minimal burden—a framework difficult to replicate without statutory authority.

Regulation implementing the Shipping Act of 1984 to prevent unreasonable preference or prejudice and unjust discrimination in marine terminal operations. Requires marine terminal operators to maintain and publish terminal schedules, enforce them as contracts, and provide electronic access. Defines key terms like bulk cargo, checking, wharfage, and terminal storage.

Imposes disproportionate compliance costs on small businesses ($14,000+ per household annually) while creating a regulatory labyrinth that burdens all stakeholders. The regulation's enforcement as an implied contract without proof of actual knowledge violates due process principles and fails to demonstrably prevent unfair practices that couldn't be addressed through private contract enforcement or market mechanisms.

Sets requirements for common carriers and conferences to publish tariffs of rates, charges, and practices for waterborne foreign commerce, ensuring public access to rate information and enabling FMC oversight of tariff accuracy and compliance.

Imposes significant compliance costs and regulatory complexity on carriers and small businesses while its transparency goals can be achieved through market mechanisms, making its continued enforcement an unnecessary economic burden.

This regulation establishes comprehensive licensing and registration requirements for ocean transportation intermediaries (freight forwarders and NVOCCs), including financial responsibility mandates, extensive definitions, application procedures, investigation requirements, and enforcement mechanisms with civil penalties up to $45,000 per violation.

This occupational licensing regime imposes unnecessary barriers to entry, creates significant compliance costs exceeding $1,300 per license, and substitutes market judgment with bureaucratic oversight. The regulation protects established players from competition while imposing disproportionate burdens on small businesses. Ocean transportation intermediary services could be effectively provided through private certification, contractual relationships, market reputation, and insurance requirements without federal interference. This represents regulatory mission creep beyond constitutional authority and violates the principle of free enterprise.

Regulation prescribes technical standards for vapor collection systems on tank vessels operating in U.S. navigable waters, covering design, testing, approval, and operational procedures to control vapor emissions during cargo transfer and cleaning.

Imposes costly, overly detailed federal standards that burden ship operators and consumers, duplicate market solutions, and create regulatory complexity with minimal safety or environmental benefit.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) provides federal grants to organizations to engage seniors (55+) in community volunteer work. It requires sponsors to manage projects, administer volunteer assignments, provide cost reimbursements, and comply with extensive reporting and civil rights requirements under AmeriCorps oversight.

Centralizes volunteerism under federal control, imposing disproportionate administrative burdens on local organizations. The $2 trillion annual regulatory compliance cost includes managing this program, while state/local governments are better positioned to facilitate grassroots senior engagement without federal micromanagement. Ends regulatory capture risks and preserves Tenth Amendment principles by removing an unnecessary federal intervention.

The Foster Grandparent Program provides grants to agencies and organizations to engage seniors (55+) in volunteer service to support children with special or exceptional needs. The program aims to enrich the lives of volunteers while addressing critical community needs.

The program imposes regulatory burdens on agencies and organizations, diverting resources from direct service provision. It also creates dependency on federal funding, reducing local initiative and innovation. The program's stipends and benefits may discourage genuine volunteerism, and the extensive administrative requirements detract from the core mission of supporting children.

The Senior Companion Program provides federal grants to organizations to engage seniors (55+) in volunteer services for community needs, offering stipends and cost reimbursements. It emphasizes non-discrimination, community involvement, and support for low-income seniors.

The regulation imposes significant administrative burdens on sponsors (e.g., strict compliance, reporting, audits) that disproportionately affect small organizations, contradicting the goal of limited government. The requirement for 10% non-federal matching funds could stifle local initiative and create dependency on federal oversight. While the program's intent to assist seniors is noble, its centralized control and compliance costs undermine liberty and free enterprise principles. State/local alternatives could more efficiently achieve similar community benefits without federal mandates.

Privacy Act regulations for Corporation for National and Community Service covering record maintenance, access, amendment, disclosure, security, and accounting requirements for personal information systems.

Americans would be worse off if deleted because it protects fundamental privacy rights, ensures government accountability, and provides legal recourse for individuals whose personal information is mishandled by federal agencies.

Regulation outlines procedures for open Board of Directors meetings, exemptions for closed meetings, and requirements for transparency in meeting conduct and records.

Ensures public access to corporate governance processes, which aligns with transparency and limited government principles. The exemptions are narrowly defined and do not represent regulatory overreach.

This regulation establishes procedures for the Legal Services Corporation Office of Inspector General to debar, suspend, or remove independent public accountants who perform audit services for LSC fund recipients, detailing notice requirements, hearing procedures, grounds for action, and appeal processes.

While intended to ensure audit quality for LSC funds, this regulation imposes significant compliance costs on accounting firms (particularly small businesses), creates barriers to entry through complex procedures, risks regulatory capture, and duplicates existing federal debarment systems - with unseen costs including reduced competition and increased expenses ultimately passed to taxpayers.

This regulation outlines a time-limited (FY1999-2002) federal bonus program rewarding states for reducing out-of-wedlock birth ratios, using NCHS vital statistics and abortion data to award up to $25 million for TANF-related purposes.

It's an obsolete program that unconstitutionally uses conditional spending to federalize state responsibilities, imposing compliance costs and perverse incentives while violating Tenth Amendment principles.

This regulation mandates extensive quarterly and annual data collection and reporting from states on TANF program participants, including personal details (SSNs, income, employment, education), expenditures, work participation, and outcomes. It specifies detailed data elements, 45-day filing deadlines, electronic submission requirements, and imposes 4% funding penalties for non-compliance.

Imposes massive compliance costs on states, requiring sophisticated data systems and extensive reporting that diverts resources from actual welfare services. The privacy-invasive collection of personal data on vulnerable populations represents federal overreach with dubious marginal benefit that could be achieved through simpler oversight methods. The administrative burden ultimately serves bureaucratic control rather than program effectiveness, exemplifying the hidden regulatory tax.

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) regulations govern federal welfare funding, including time limits on assistance, restrictions on use of benefits, contingency funds, and compliance requirements with penalties for states/territories that fail to meet federal standards.

These regulations create a massive federal bureaucracy that micromanages state welfare programs, imposes complex compliance costs, and undermines state sovereignty over social services. The extensive penalty system and detailed restrictions represent federal overreach into areas traditionally handled by states.

This regulation defines administrative costs, maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirements, and Individual Development Account (IDA) provisions for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It establishes cost allocation rules, MOE calculation methods, and restrictions on fund usage to ensure states maintain funding levels and use federal funds appropriately for welfare services.

Americans would be worse off if this regulation was deleted because it ensures states maintain funding for welfare services, prevents federal funds from being diverted to other purposes, and establishes clear accounting standards that prevent waste and abuse in the TANF program.