Browse regulations

This regulation establishes the terms and conditions for the Federal Crop Insurance Program administered by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), including eligibility requirements, coverage levels, premium rates, application procedures, acreage reporting, and claims processes for farmers purchasing government-subsidized multi-peril crop insurance.

This represents massive federal overreach into agriculture, creating moral hazard by shielding farmers from market risks, distorting agricultural production decisions, and imposing significant compliance burdens. The program costs taxpayers billions annually in subsidies and administration while picking winners and losers—small farms face disproportionate compliance costs relative to large agribusinesses. Agriculture is a matter for state and private markets, not federal bureaucrats; private insurance markets existed before this program and would function competitively without government intervention. The entire regulatory apparatus violates constitutional federalism and undermines the free enterprise system we must restore.

This regulation establishes administrative procedures for appeals, mediation, and review of adverse decisions in the federal crop insurance program. It defines participant and agency terms, sets timelines (30 days) for challenges, establishes standards for private insurance contractors including financial thresholds and licensing requirements, and outlines processes for reconsideration of good farming practice determinations.

The federally subsidized crop insurance program imposes massive hidden taxes on Americans ($ billions annually) while distorting agricultural markets. Administrative procedures add layers of bureaucratic compliance costs that disproportionately burden small businesses and create barriers to entry. The program creates moral hazard, encourages overproduction of subsidized crops, and represents an unconstitutional federal overreach into private risk management that violates federalism and free enterprise principles.

Regulation limits outside earned income to 15% of Executive Level II salary for certain presidential appointees and noncareer senior employees, bans compensation for fiduciary professions and board service, and requires advance approval for compensated teaching. Applies to political appointees above GS-15, noncareer SES, and Schedule C positions.

This regulation paternalistically restricts the economic liberty of Americans who accept government positions, assuming they cannot be trusted to manage outside income without explicit permission. The 15% cap and categorical bans on entire professions (law, medicine, accounting) are wildly disproportionate to actual conflict risks—most outside work poses zero threat to official duties. It chills voluntary exchange, shrinks the talent pool willing to serve, and creates a compliance bureaucracy to police harmless activity. Conflicted interests can be addressed directly through recusal rules and specific transaction prohibitions without depriving individuals of their right to earn and contract. The regulation embodies the progressive notion that citizens need state permission to engage in free enterprise—a principle antithetical to liberty.

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent federal agency that adjudicates federal employee appeals of personnel actions and conducts special reviews of federal merit systems. It consists of three presidentially-appointed members, has various administrative offices, and follows specific procedures for case adjudication and rulemaking petitions.

Americans would be worse off if the MSPB was deleted because it provides essential due process protections for federal employees against arbitrary personnel actions by agencies. Without this independent review mechanism, federal workers would have no recourse against wrongful termination, discrimination, or other personnel decisions, potentially leading to a less merit-based and more politically-influenced federal workforce.

Regulation specifying detailed requirements for federal personnel investigations conducted by OPM and delegated agencies, covering source confidentiality, record handling under Privacy Act/FOIA, delegated authority procedures, and 14-day initiation timelines for suitability and national security checks on federal employees, contractors, volunteers, and others performing federal services.

The regulation imposes massive hidden costs: bureaucratic bloat from mandatory OPM oversight, hiring delays from rigid 14-day mandates, and compliance burdens that fall disproportionately on smaller agencies. It violates Tenth Amendment federalism by federalizing personnel management, extends intrusive investigations to volunteers and contractors whose roles may not warrant them, and prevents agencies from tailoring investigations to actual risk profiles — exemplifying the knowledge problem Hayek identified. The unseen consequences include reduced labor market flexibility, barriers to public service participation, and a one-size-fits-all approach that sacrifices efficiency for uniformity.

This regulation implements Executive Order 10450 to establish security requirements for government employment, designating national security positions, setting investigative requirements, and creating procedures for security clearances and periodic reinvestigations.

This regulation protects national security by ensuring only trustworthy individuals have access to classified information and sensitive government positions. Without these security measures, foreign adversaries could infiltrate critical agencies, compromising defense plans, intelligence operations, and military capabilities. The due process protections balance security needs with individual rights.

Regulation implementing 5 U.S.C. 5753, authorizing federal agencies to pay recruitment and relocation incentives to attract employees to positions likely to be difficult to fill. Establishes criteria for determining difficulty, sets incentive caps (25% of annual basic pay per service year, up to 4 years, with waiver to 50%/100% for critical needs), requires written service agreements (6 months-4 years), outlines termination/repayment rules, and provides OPM oversight.

Without this authority, federal agencies would be unable to compete for specialized talent in critical fields, resulting in prolonged vacancies or unqualified personnel in roles that enforce laws, ensure national security, and execute essential public functions. The market-based incentives, constrained by strict eligibility and oversight, are the most efficient means to address genuine recruitment shortfalls without expanding permanent compensation structures.

Grants federal agencies discretion to pay travel expenses for new appointees and interviewees per the Federal Travel Regulation, requiring record-keeping for OPM oversight.

Internal procedural regulation adds administrative overhead and contributes to 185,000+ page CFR; agencies can manage travel reimbursements through internal policy without needing CFR codification, and OPM reporting requirement is unnecessary bureaucracy.

This regulation governs exceptions to annuity offset rules for federal retirees reemployed by agencies, allowing agencies to request waivers when they face emergency hiring needs, recruiting difficulties, or need to retain uniquely qualified individuals for critical projects.

Americans would be worse off if this regulation was deleted because it enables federal agencies to maintain critical operations during emergencies and retain specialized expertise that would otherwise be lost when experienced retirees cannot be reemployed without financial penalty. The regulation balances fiscal responsibility with operational necessity by requiring agencies to justify exceptions based on specific criteria like emergency response, severe recruiting difficulty, or retention of uniquely qualified individuals for critical projects.

Regulation governs Surface Transportation Board approval process for transportation carrier agreements, particularly rate bureau activities. Requires detailed applications, exhibits, state service, Federal Register notice, ongoing compliance, and defines rate change types subject to Board review.

Imposes high compliance costs that fall disproportionately on small carriers, creates regulatory barriers protecting incumbents, and enables capture through discretionary approval power. The complex application and reporting requirements constitute a hidden tax on transportation. Market forces and existing antitrust laws can address collusion concerns more efficiently without bureaucratic intervention.

This regulation specifies technical standards for deformable impact barriers used to test motor vehicle safety compliance, including detailed specifications for barrier components, materials, assembly procedures, and testing protocols.

This regulation imposes massive compliance costs on vehicle manufacturers through highly specific technical requirements, creates barriers to innovation in safety testing methods, and represents federal overreach into what could be private industry standards. The detailed specifications for aluminum honeycomb materials and adhesive bonding procedures create unnecessary complexity that benefits large manufacturers while disadvantaging smaller competitors.

This regulation mandates documentation requirements for motor carriers and freight forwarders engaged in interstate commerce. It requires carriers to issue receipts, bills of lading, or expense bills containing specific information including parties' names, shipment details, rates, charges, routes, and transfer points. Freight forwarders must issue receipts or through bills of lading. The regulation provides limited flexibility for 'low value' packages and prescribes recordkeeping periods.

This paperwork mandate imposes significant compliance costs, particularly on small carriers who face nearly 30% higher per-employee burdens than large corporations. The rigid one-size-fits-all documentation requirements stifle innovation and prevent adoption of more efficient electronic systems. Federal intrusion into private contract terms violates freedom of contract and creates unnecessary barriers to entry, protecting incumbent carriers from competition. These unseen costs amount to a hidden tax on transportation services, raising prices for all Americans and contravening Tenth Amendment principles of federalism. Documentation disputes are adequately addressed by contract law and courts without federal prescription.

This regulation requires motor carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders to file Form BOC-3 designating process agents in every state where they operate or have offices. It mandates using a standardized federal form, maintains blanket designation options through associations, and requires updates within 30 days of changes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration uses this to ensure entities under its jurisdiction have agents available for service of legal process.

This federal mandate creates unnecessary administrative costs and compliance burdens, particularly for small carriers, for what is fundamentally a state-law matter of service of process. States already possess long-arm statutes and registered agent systems to ensure defendants can be served. The regulation federalizes a procedural mechanism that does not require uniform national treatment, imposing costs exceeding any marginal benefit over state alternatives. Eliminating it would return this function to states and reduce regulatory drag on interstate commerce.

This regulation governs federal grant-in-aid funding to states for pipeline safety compliance programs. Up to 80% of state program costs are reimbursed by the federal government through PHMSA, with allocations increasingly tied to performance metrics. A condition for full funding is that states adopt a 'one-call' damage prevention program requiring excavators to notify a central system before digging, which then alerts pipeline operators. The regulation establishes standards for these one-call systems, enforcement requirements, and a review process where PHMSA can find state enforcement programs inadequate and potentially reduce funding.

This grant program violates constitutional federalism by using federal tax dollars to coerce states into adopting specific regulatory frameworks, effectively commandeering state police powers reserved under the Tenth Amendment. The compliance bureaucracy at both federal and state levels imposes significant hidden costs on taxpayers while creating a one-size-fits-all regime that prevents states from innovating or tailoring safety measures to local conditions. The conditional funding creates perverse incentives for states to prioritize chasing federal dollars over addressing their citizens' actual needs, and the performance metrics invite federal micromanagement of state enforcement priorities. Pipeline safety is properly a state function; states can voluntarily implement one-call systems or other safeguards without federal coercion, and interstate commerce concerns can be addressed directly through federal regulation of interstate pipelines without this grant-overreach apparatus.

Comprehensive federal regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials by air, highway, rail, and water, including classification, packaging, labeling, training, and emergency procedures.

Americans would be worse off without these regulations as hazardous materials transportation poses severe risks to public safety, environmental protection, and national security. The complex classification system, packaging requirements, and training mandates prevent catastrophic accidents, toxic spills, and explosions that could cause mass casualties and long-term environmental damage. The costs of compliance are justified by preventing the far greater costs of uncontrolled hazardous materials incidents.