Browse regulations

Regulates related services offered by Farm Credit System institutions, establishing authorization procedures, disclosure requirements, and operational guidelines for services like insurance and appraisals provided to eligible borrowers and members.

Creates unnecessary regulatory burden on Farm Credit institutions, restricts voluntary business arrangements between willing parties, and imposes costly compliance requirements that distort market competition without providing meaningful consumer protection benefits.

Requires Export-Import Bank employees to comply with federal ethics rules (5 CFR 2634, 2635) and supplementary Bank-specific rules (5 CFR 6201) regarding financial disclosures and conduct.

These rules are redundant: federal ethics standards already apply uniformly to all executive branch employees. The Bank’s supplementary rules add bureaucratic overhead without enhancing integrity, and create unnecessary compliance costs for a small agency. Eliminating them streamlines governance without weakening accountability, as general federal ethics laws remain fully enforceable.

FDIC regulations establishing procedures for public access to agency records under FOIA, including definitions, request processes, fee structures, and exemptions for disclosure of sensitive information.

Americans would be worse off if this regulation was deleted because it ensures transparency and accountability of FDIC operations. The FOIA procedures allow citizens to access information about how their deposits are protected, monitor banking oversight activities, and maintain public trust in the financial system's stability.

This regulation establishes lending limits for national banks and savings associations to prevent excessive loans to single borrowers and promote financial diversification. It sets a 15% general limit plus 10% additional limit for loans secured by readily marketable collateral, with special limits for certain types of loans like consumer paper and staples.

These lending limits represent unnecessary federal micromanagement of bank lending decisions that should be left to market forces and individual bank risk assessment. The costs include reduced credit availability for legitimate borrowers, artificial constraints on legitimate business relationships, and the hidden cost of regulatory compliance. Banks already have strong incentives to manage credit risk through market discipline and their own capital requirements.

This regulation implements Section 39 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, mandating safety and soundness standards for national banks and federal savings associations. It covers internal controls, credit underwriting, compensation, asset quality, and information security, with enforcement mechanisms including compliance plans and agency orders.

The regulation enshrines bureaucratic oversight that distorts market discipline, imposes compliance costs exceeding $2 trillion annually, and replaces voluntary contractual safeguards with coercive federal mandates. These standards, enforced by unelected regulators, suppress innovation, protect incumbent institutions from competition, and violate Tenth Amendment principles by federalizing matters properly reserved to states and private contracts. Market forces and common law liability already ensure prudent banking practices without federal micromanagement.

Regulation detailing the structure, functions, and procedures of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), including examination processes, supervisory responsibilities, and public access to information under the FOIA.

The OCC's role in ensuring financial institution safety and soundness is critical to maintaining economic stability. This regulation defines the framework for federal banking oversight, which is necessary to prevent systemic risks and protect consumer interests.

Energy Planning and Management Program (EPAMP) implements Section 114 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 by requiring Western Area Power Administration customers to develop integrated resource plans (IRPs) or alternatives focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and demand-side management. The program establishes detailed reporting requirements and compliance alternatives including small customer plans, minimum investment reports, and EE/RE reports.

This regulation represents federal overreach into energy resource planning that should be handled by states and private markets. The extensive compliance requirements and reporting burdens create significant costs for businesses while achieving minimal benefits that could be accomplished through voluntary market mechanisms. The program's complex structure with multiple alternative compliance paths creates regulatory uncertainty and administrative overhead that distorts energy markets and raises costs for consumers.

This regulation establishes policies and procedures for DOE to award grants and cooperative agreements for health-related research, education/training, conferences, and communication activities, particularly in epidemiology and health studies related to DOE operations and energy production.

This regulation creates a costly federal bureaucracy for health research funding that should be handled by states, universities, or private foundations. It duplicates existing NIH/CDC programs, creates compliance overhead exceeding $2 trillion annually, and represents unconstitutional federal overreach into health research that belongs at state/local level under Tenth Amendment.

Provides incentive payments for renewable energy facilities owned by states, tribal governments, Native corporations, not-for-profit cooperatives, and public utilities, with payments based on net electricity generation over 10 fiscal years

Government subsidies distort energy markets by favoring politically connected technologies over economically efficient ones, creating hidden costs through taxation and market inefficiencies that ultimately harm consumers and taxpayers

Establishes comprehensive requirements for packaging, preparation, and transportation of radioactive materials, including licensing procedures, safety standards, and compliance with DOT regulations.

Nuclear materials pose extreme public health risks if mishandled. These regulations prevent catastrophic radiation exposure, environmental contamination, and nuclear proliferation. The complex safety requirements are essential for protecting millions of Americans from invisible but deadly hazards that would otherwise occur during transport of radioactive materials.

This regulation governs the issuance of renewed operating licenses and renewed combined licenses for nuclear power plants, establishing requirements for aging management reviews, safety assessments, and environmental compliance for extended plant operations beyond initial license terms.

Nuclear power plants require specialized regulatory oversight for extended operations due to the unique safety risks and technical complexity involved. The aging management requirements ensure continued safe operation of critical systems, while the structured review process provides public accountability and environmental protection that private market solutions would struggle to achieve for this high-stakes infrastructure.

Establishes the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) within USDA, detailing its organizational structure (headquarters divisions, state offices) and core responsibilities: collecting and disseminating agricultural statistics (production, inventories, economic data), conducting survey methodology research, coordinating federal statistical programs, and providing technical assistance to developing countries.

NASS imposes unnecessary costs on taxpayers and crowds out private statistical services that could provide superior, market-driven data. Its 'official' statistics enable harmful agricultural subsidies, price supports, and central planning, distorting markets. The unseen consequence is entrenching a federal presence in agriculture contrary to constitutional federalism, while bureaucratic incentives prioritize data collection over accuracy or relevance.

USDA regulation governing donation of excess research equipment to educational institutions and non-profits for technical/scientific education and research. Establishes eligibility, priority order (favoring rural enterprise zones), administrative procedures, and usage requirements.

Creates a non-market allocation mechanism bypassing competitive bidding that would direct assets to their highest-valued use. Imposes administrative costs, distorts funding incentives for educational institutions, and concentrates benefits on politically prioritized groups while costs are borne by taxpayers. The government should dispose of excess property through open sales to maximize recovery, not act as a charitable distributor.

Comprehensive rural development regulations covering loan authority, appeals procedures, and conflict of interest policies for USDA Rural Development programs, including Rural Utilities Service, Rural Housing Service, and Rural Business-Cooperative Development Service.

This massive regulatory framework creates bureaucratic overhead, enables federal overreach into local agricultural and housing markets, and imposes compliance costs that distort rural development decisions away from market-based solutions.

Regulation mandates that each state develop a Modernization Plan to improve telecommunications infrastructure, including specific technical requirements for service deployment, equipment standards, and uniformity between rural and non-rural areas.

The regulation is fundamentally outdated (1995) and its requirements (e.g., 1 Mb/s data rates, 5-year time limits) are no longer relevant to modern telecommunications. The original intent to modernize rural access is now achieved through private sector innovation, and the bureaucratic process imposes disproportionate compliance costs on small businesses. The statutory basis (RE Act) has been superseded by newer laws, rendering this regulation obsolete and inefficient.