Browse regulations

This regulation establishes flammability testing standards for mattresses and mattress pads to ensure they resist ignition when exposed to lighted cigarettes, requiring pre-market testing of prototypes and specific testing procedures including bare mattress and two-sheet tests with detailed apparatus specifications and classification of ticking materials by ignition resistance.

Americans would be worse off without this regulation as it prevents deadly mattress fires that kill hundreds annually. The testing requirements create a standardized safety benchmark that manufacturers can achieve through design changes, protecting consumers from fire hazards while allowing market flexibility in how compliance is achieved.

Federal Trade Commission rule requiring used vehicle dealers to display a standardized 'Buyers Guide' on vehicles before sale, disclosing warranty status (as-is, implied warranties only, or full/limited warranty), warranty terms, dealer info, and complaint contacts. Prohibits misrepresentations about condition and warranties, and mandates providing the completed form to buyers. Applies to dealers selling five or more used vehicles annually, with state exemption process for stronger state laws.

Americans would be worse off without this rule due to increased fraud and information asymmetry in used vehicle markets, disproportionately harming low-income and less sophisticated buyers. While state laws and tort remedies exist, the standardized Buyers Guide uniquely ensures consistent, accessible disclosures at the point of sale—a baseline of transparency that private ordering fails to uniformly provide. Deleting it would erode trust, raise transaction costs, and enable predatory practices that undermine market efficiency.

Defines key terms for consumer credit transactions and prohibits unfair or deceptive practices by lenders and retail installment sellers, including bans on confessions of judgment, wage assignments, nonpossessory security interests in household goods, and requirements for cosigner disclosures and protections against abusive collection practices.

Protects consumers from predatory lending practices that could lead to loss of essential household goods, wage garnishment without proper consent, and deceptive cosigning arrangements. These protections prevent financial exploitation and ensure basic consumer rights in credit transactions.

Regulation establishes procedures for groups to seek formal designation as 'socially or economically disadvantaged' to qualify for MBDA assistance. Requires showing chronic, substantial group-level disadvantage through evidence like income statistics, employment/educational discrimination, and access to capital/opportunities compared to non-disadvantaged groups.

Institutionalizes racial discrimination by judging eligibility based on group identity rather than individual merit. Violates equal protection principles and perpetuates the very racial classifications America should move beyond. Creates administrative burden and special interest politics while undermining free enterprise by granting government favors based on immutable characteristics rather than business merit. Costs extend beyond compliance to erosion of constitutional federalism and individual liberty. Assistance should be merit-based or eliminated entirely.

Implements Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) under Defense Production Act, giving federal agencies authority to prioritize contracts and allocate materials for military, energy, and emergency preparedness programs. Establishes two-tier priority system (DO/DX) and requires suppliers to accept and fulfill rated orders before unrated ones.

Creates unconstitutional federal control over private sector production decisions, distorting markets and imposing hidden compliance costs exceeding $2 trillion annually. Violates Tenth Amendment by federalizing resource allocation that should be handled by states and markets. Enables regulatory capture where agencies write rules benefiting incumbents rather than the public.

This regulation implements a 1983 law providing duty exemptions for watches and watch movements from U.S. territories (Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands) under specific conditions including minimum assembly requirements, wage thresholds, and territorial distribution formulas. It establishes complex allocation systems, certificate programs for duty refunds, and detailed record-keeping requirements.

This protectionist program distorts market incentives by subsidizing territorial watch production with complex regulatory requirements that create artificial barriers to entry. The $5 million annual certificate cap, wage verification bureaucracy, and territorial allocation formulas impose compliance costs far exceeding any benefit while favoring politically connected manufacturers over efficient producers. The entire framework represents industrial policy that picks winners and losers rather than allowing free market competition to determine optimal production locations.

Establishes organizational structure and procedures for Department of Transportation staff to exercise delegated authority, including discretionary review processes and specific powers for various officials

Creates an overly complex bureaucratic framework that centralizes authority in unelected officials, enabling regulatory capture and mission creep while bypassing proper legislative oversight. The extensive delegation of authority to staff members without clear accountability mechanisms violates constitutional separation of powers principles.

This regulation establishes federal guidelines for determining compensation to airlines providing essential air service to small communities under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. It sets standards for evaluating carrier costs, revenues, and reasonable profit margins, along with payment mechanisms and compliance requirements.

This regulation represents federal overreach into what should be local/regional transportation decisions. The EAS program distorts market signals, protects incumbent carriers from competition, and creates perpetual subsidies for routes that may not be economically viable. Small communities would benefit more from market-driven solutions like ridesharing, bus services, or regional partnerships rather than federal subsidies that artificially prop up uneconomical routes and inflate airline profits.

Establishes a minimum baggage liability of $4,700 for flights on large aircraft (>60 seats) in interstate/intrastate air transportation, requires airlines to provide conspicuous notice of this liability limit or the federal requirement on tickets, and mandates biennial CPI adjustments via a formula.

Interferes with freedom of contract between airlines and passengers; market competition already incentivizes airlines to offer competitive baggage policies as a differentiator; compliance costs and notice requirements create unnecessary regulatory burden; passengers can protect their interests by choosing carriers with better coverage or purchasing supplemental insurance.

This regulation establishes filing and evidence requirements for foreign air carriers seeking authority to operate in US airspace, including application procedures, ownership disclosure, financial reporting, and reciprocity documentation.

This represents federal overreach into international aviation that should be handled through bilateral treaties and private contracts. The extensive documentation requirements create compliance costs that protect incumbent carriers from competition, while the reciprocity provisions enable protectionist trade policies that harm consumers through higher fares and reduced service options.

Establishes federal procedures for airport noise exposure maps and compatibility programs, requiring airports to assess noise impacts on surrounding communities, with FAA review and approval of submissions and limits on property damage claims.

Federal overreach into local land use violates Tenth Amendment, imposes $billions in hidden compliance costs, and substitutes centralized bureaucratic planning for locally-tailored solutions. Property rights, nuisance law, state/local zoning, and market-based mitigation can address noise without federal red tape.

Regulation Y implements the Bank Holding Company Act, governing acquisitions of bank control, defining permissible nonbanking activities for bank holding companies, and establishing approval procedures, appraisal standards, and financial holding company rules to ensure bank holding companies serve as sources of strength to subsidiary banks and maintain safe and sound operations.

Deleting this regulation would dismantle the primary federal framework preventing unsafe and unsound practices by bank holding companies, whose control over FDIC-insured banks creates systemic risks and moral hazard. The regulation achieves its desired outcome through centralized, expert oversight that cannot be replicated by state-level regulation or private market discipline alone—bank depositors lack both the incentive and ability to monitor holding company activities due to deposit insurance, making federal supervision essential to prevent taxpayer-funded bailouts and protect the financial system.

This regulation implements Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to prohibit discrimination against handicapped persons in Federal Election Commission programs and activities, requiring accessibility, auxiliary aids, and complaint procedures.

Americans would be worse off if disabled citizens were denied equal access to voting, election information, and participation in democratic processes. This ensures fundamental political rights for all citizens regardless of disability.

DOE guidelines for evaluating suitability of sites for geologic nuclear waste repositories, defining technical criteria, processes, and terminology for site selection and characterization under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

Deleting these guidelines would undermine systematic, science-based evaluation of nuclear waste repository sites, increasing risks of contamination and costly remediation. The technical framework ensures rigorous, consistent analysis that would be hard to achieve through ad-hoc decision-making, protecting public health and long-term environmental safety.

DOE regulation establishing criteria for 'extraordinary nuclear occurrence' determinations that trigger waivers of certain tort defenses in lawsuits against DOE nuclear contractors. Sets thresholds for substantial radioactive release/radiation levels and substantial damages (e.g., 5+ offsite deaths, $2.5M+ property damage). Includes procedures for DOE determinations and provides that such determinations remove traditional tort defenses, easing claimant burdens.

This regulation implements a federal indemnity program that overrides state tort law, creating moral hazard by shielding contractors from full liability and forcing taxpayers to cover catastrophic nuclear risks. Such socialized insurance distorts market pricing, reduces safety incentives, and violates Tenth Amendment principles by federalizing an area of traditional state concern. Private insurance markets can and should handle these risks.