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those enable government to grow out of public view, Yet, it seems we need it now more than ever.
beyond the spending so many free marketers focus Today’s regulatory costs are greater than all
on. Even if we were to balance the federal budget federal spending in the early1990s, and exceed
tomorrow, we’d still have the weight of regulation current personal and corporate income tax receipts
upon us. combined. The days of ignoring the matter are over.
As the federal government moves into more Sure, we can measure costs better, but get-
economic sectors, the saliency of regulation as the ting Congress on the record for regulation is what
real barrier to growth and individual liberty has matters. In 2014, Congress passed and President
become clearer, bringing greater attention to CEI’s Obama signed 224 bills into law, while thousands of
work. Regulation is discussed on Capitol Hill with bureaucrats issued 3,554 rules and regulations. That
far more frequency—and urgency—now, and by means there were 16 rules for every law passed last
far more members, both Republican and Democrat. year—a ration I call the “Unconstitutionality Index.”
The last time the energy for “getting things undone” As it shows, unelected regulators and bureaucrats do
was this visible was in the 1990s, when unfunded the bulk of lawmaking in the country.
mandates reform and the Congressional Review Act Congress likes to blame agencies for excesses
were enacted. like the Waters of the United States rule, but
The modern regulatory state’s continued advance Congress delegated that power, and has failed to
shows these efforts weren’t enough, and policy restrain it. In addition to approving future agency
makers know it. Accordingly, there is now a bipar- rules on the record, Congress must change the
tisan proposal for a regulatory reduction commis- underlying statutes driving the regulatory flow.
sion. Ideas like “one in, one out” get discussed. The Even Ten Thousand Commandments cannot
Regulatory Accountability Act, to require more scru- adequately capture the president’s “pen and phone”
tiny of agency rules, has passed the House, and the approach to policy making. We can count regula-
Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny tions, but guidance documents, notices, executive
(REINS) Act, to require congressional affirmation of orders, agency and presidential memos, and even
all major agency regulations, is expected to pass blog posts and press releases all can set the tone for
both houses of Congress this summer. policy making now. These can easily outnumber the
This is President Obama’s year of the veto, so major rules that the agencies issue. This “regulatory
addressing overregulation remains difficult. But dark matter” is something to which future editions
address it we must. Based on federal government of Ten Thousand Commandments and the policy
data, past reports, and contemporary studies, the making world in general needs to pay more atten-
2015 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments tion. Stay tuned.
estimates regulatory costs of $1.88 trillion annually
R.M.
about each drug’s risks and benefits and make fully informed
decisions.
Patients would have to allow their doctors to submit anony-
mous treatment reports describing their diagnoses, health status,
physical characteristics, and experience with the treatment—
FREEDMAN
both effectiveness and side effects. This continuously updated
collection of data would provide additional information for other
SOCI ET Y
patients, and it would give the developer and other researchers
a way to study the drug’s performance in a real-world setting.
This would prove a valuable complement to standard clinical Help the Competitive
testing. One shortcoming of clinical trials is that patients are
selected to be as similar as possible in characteristics such as
Enterprise Institute
health status, disease progression, and other factors, to make carry on its work for
statistical analysis more reliable. But we often cannot spot generations by joining the
certain benefits or side effects until after a drug is approved and
prescribed to tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dissimilar
R.M. Freedman society.
patients.
Giving a wide range of patients the ability to choose for In 2013, CEI established the R.M. Freedman
themselves might sacrifice some statistical purity, but we would Society in honor of Robert M. Freedman,
gain a better picture of a drug’s real-world effects. One could a business owner from West Bloomfield,
even envision an alternative FDA approval process that uses Michigan, who placed CEI in his estate
this observational data for assessments. Either way, medical and, in 2009, sadly passed on and gave
researchers would get a treasure trove of information that could CEI its first legacy gift. We named the
improve how scientists spend their research dollars, leading to society in appreciation of his generosity.
faster, more efficient innovation. Many of CEI’s extended family choose to
Of course, not all manufacturers would want to sell their include CEI in their estate plans through:
products in a Free to Choose Medicine system, preferring
instead to pursue only the conventional FDA-monitored trials. • Bequests,
And some patients may be unwilling to try treatments that have • Charitable Remainder Trusts,
not been tested further and fully vetted by the FDA. But enacting • Charitable Lead Trusts, or as a
the proposal into law would make available additional treat-
ment options to many patients who now have few or no alter- • Life insurance beneficiary.
natives. When faced with life-or-death illnesses, more patients
should have this choice. If you make the decision to include CEI in
your estate plans, please reach out and let
us know.
Bartley J. Madden is a founder of the Tomorrow’s Cures Today
Foundation and author of Free to Choose Medicine: Better Drugs,
While these sorts of decisions should be
Sooner at Lower Cost. Gregory Conko (greg.conko@cei.org) is undertaken with the help of an estate
Executive Director of CEI. planner, Lauren Avey and Al Canata of
CEI can be a resource to you. You can
reach them anytime at 202-331-1010.
On May 7, the U.S. Court of A March report from CEI reveals an In late April, the National Research
Appeals for the Second Circuit appalling lack of transparency in Council published a comprehen-
struck down the National Security how Missouri’s government agencies sive review of the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (NSA) domestic tele- account for taxpayer dollars going Administration’s (FAA) bungled rollout
phone surveillance program, which to labor union coffers. Public records of the multi-billion dollar update of
for years had collected millions of requests made by CEI aimed to find the nation’s air traffic control system,
Americans’ phone records. The Court out how much Missouri taxpay- known as NextGen. In the lengthy
ruled the NSA program was illegal ers were paying for “union release report, the authors harshly criticized
because it “exceeds the scope” of time,” a practice that allows public the FAA for its incompetence, noting
congressional authorization. CEI employees to conduct union business that, among other issues, “Not all parts
Vice President for Policy Wayne during work time without loss of pay. of the original vision will be achieved
Crews applauded the ruling, saying, But only a small minority of Missouri in the foreseeable future,” “NextGen,
“This ruling affirms the wisdom of the government agencies provided sat- as currently executed, is not broadly
citizenry’s watching and regulating isfactory responses to CEI’s requests. transformational,” and “‘NextGen’ has
secret government activities rather “At a time when taxpayer dollars become a misnomer.” CEI Fellow Marc
than passively being the target of are stretched thin in Missouri and Scribner called the report a wake-up
such. The federal government clearly other states, the government should call for Congress, urging lawmakers
expects us to give up our liberties for stop funding activities that only serve to remove air traffic control responsi-
its centralized vision of our security, special interests and do not advance bilities from the FAA in the forthcom-
when there are less brittle and inva- a public purpose,” said CEI Policy ing reauthorization due this fall. “CEI
sive alternatives. Worse is when we Analyst Trey Kovacs, who authored supports the creation of a non-govern-
give up our liberties to an unaccount- the report and filed the public mental, nonprofit air navigation service
able government whose very phi- records requests. provider,” said Scribner. “This would
losophy and approach undermines be similar to NavCanada, which we
genuine security and cybersecurity.” believe would speed the deployment of
new technologies, improve service and
safety, and reduce costs.”
...END NOTES
Feds: Puerto Ricans Disabled Because They Speak Toyota Prius Batteries Good for the Planet, Great
Spanish—in Puerto Rico for Thieves
In April, the Office of Inspector General for the Social In May, a San Francisco TV station reported on a rash
Security Administration (SSA) issued an audit report that of battery thefts from Toyota Prius vehicles. According to
found the SSA had approved hundreds of disability requests the investigation, thieves are able to remove the batteries
for Puerto Ricans because they didn’t speak fluent English. in approximately 20 minutes. The batteries, which gener-
The rules SSA relied upon were intended to grant disability ally retail for $2,500, are then often sold on Craigslist
status to illiterate Americans. The government of Puerto Rico, for approximately $1,000. Reporters found that thieves
and most commercial ventures, conduct the vast majority smashed the cars’ windows, cut through the connecting
of business in Spanish. “SSA managers at various disability wires, and then pulled out the 150-pound battery pack.
decision levels stated Social Security is a national program, Technology news website Ars Technica recommended that
and the grids must be applied to the national economy, “if you’re a Prius owner who wants to mitigate against theft,
regardless of local conditions,” the audit said. Spanish is you should replace the battery’s existing 12mm bolts with
spoken by 95 percent of Puerto Ricans. “We found the tamper-proof bolts. Presumably that won’t stop the thieves
Agency did not make exceptions regarding the English- from first smashing your windows and damaging your
language grid rules for claimants who reside in Puerto Rico, upholstery, only to find out the battery can’t be removed,
even though Spanish is the predominant language spoken in however.”
the local economy,” the OIG said.
Colorado School Seizes Cookies from Parent-
Burnt Food Evacuates Iowa Capitol—Twice Packed Lunches
In late April, the Iowa Capitol was evacuated after a A school in the Denver, Colorado, suburb of Aurora
staffer burned macaroni and cheese in a microwave near gave a preschooler a rude lunch surprise. When preschooler
the Senate chamber. The incident occurred at around 11am, Natalee Pearson arrived home from school one day, she
according to the Associated Press, and the evacuation order told her mother that the cookies she had packed for dessert
was soon lifted. But just three weeks later, the Capitol was were deemed unacceptable by school officials. Instead, she
again evacuated after cafeteria smoke alarms were set off handed her mother Leeza a note from the school stating that
by burning food. The culprit in the second incident was a only healthy snacks were permitted on premises. Natalee’s
pizza crust. In both cases, there were no injuries or property mother was disturbed by the intervention and insult, telling
damage. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services is reporters that officials had taken their zealousness too far.
reportedly investigating Capitol Building cooking practices. Aurora Public Schools officials released a statement saying
that Natalee had received a healthy alternative after her
cookies had been seized.