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Big Government and the Administrative State
50 posts, newest first (page 2 of 3).
Block Grants or Categorical Grants, and Why the Strings Matter MostHow Washington sends money to the states decides who really runs a program. A table of grant types, the record since 1972, and which design suits which goal. The Bridge to Nowhere Was Never Built, and Earmarks Came Back AnywayThe Gravina bridge became the symbol of pork, House Republicans banned earmarks in 2011, and Congress revived them in 2021. Both sides get a hearing. Every Agency Should Have to Justify Its Existence Again, the Texas Sunset WaySunset laws end an agency on a fixed date unless the legislature renews it. How Colorado and Texas built them, why states backed off, and a federal design. Make Congress Vote on Every Major Rule, and Watch Accountability ReturnThe REINS Act would require both chambers to approve any major rule before it takes effect, putting an elected name back on the laws Americans live under. The Congressional Review Act Lets Congress Veto a Rule, if It Moves in TimeThe 1996 Congressional Review Act is Congress's one fast-track tool against agency rules. Its clocks, its lookback and its fine print decide when it works. Guidance Documents Are Rules That Skipped the Line, and Families Pay for ItAgencies govern by letter, memo and FAQ without notice and comment, and the law lets them. Here is how it works, what it costs, and how to fix it. The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 Was a Truce, and It Still ShowsThe APA was a compromise between New Deal defenders and critics of administrative absolutism, and its gaps explain many of today's fights over agency power. Your Questions About the Code of Federal Regulations, Answered PlainlyHow the CFR differs from the Federal Register and the U.S. Code, how it is organized and updated, and how to find who wrote a rule and what is coming next. Agencies Write Thousands of Rules a Year While Congress Passes Hundreds of LawsCompare the Federal Register's final rules with the laws Congress enacts and you can see where lawmaking in America has actually moved, and why it matters. GAO's High-Risk List Has Named Some of the Same Programs Since 1990GAO has listed federal programs most vulnerable to waste, fraud and mismanagement since 1990, and some never come off. That argues for structural reform. How to Read an Inspector General Report and Use It to Hold an Agency to AccountInspector General reports are public and free. Here is how to find them, read them and put a finding in front of the member of Congress who can act on it. Washington Admits It Sends Billions to the Wrong People, by Law Every YearFederal law makes agencies report their improper payments, and the government's own figures make the case for program reform better than any critic could. The Federal Workforce Is Smaller Than You Think, and That Is the ProblemFederal headcount grew about a fifth as spending multiplied, since Washington governs by contractors, grantees and states. Cut programs, not jobs. Official Time Lets Federal Employees Do Union Work on the Taxpayer's ClockFederal law lets employees spend paid hours on union representation. Here is how official time works, what the statute allows, and the arguments on both sides. Even Franklin Roosevelt Thought Government Unions Had LimitsLabor's own champions once held that bargaining against the government differed from bargaining against a company, and the record shows how far we moved. Schedule F Is Really a Fight Over Who Answers to the VotersThe Schedule F fight is a fight over whether an elected President can direct the executive branch Article II gives him, and the answer starts with the text. The Spoils System Was Bad, and the Cure Built a Workforce Voters Cannot ReachPatronage was a real scandal and reform was right. But a career service that answers to no election has its own problem, and the history shows how we got here. The CFPB Is Funded Without an Annual Vote of Congress, and That Should Worry UsThe purse is Congress's strongest check. An agency paid out of the Federal Reserve escapes it. A 7-2 ruling upheld the design, but that does not make it wise. A Regulatory Budget Would Make Washington Count the Cost of Its RulesA regulatory budget caps the compliance costs agencies may impose, as an appropriation caps spending. How it works, the 2017 precedent and the objections. Humphrey's Executor Created a Fourth Branch the Constitution Never MentionsA 1935 ruling that a President could not fire an FTC commissioner created agencies answerable to no one. The facts, the reasoning and the case for overruling. Five Times the Court Told an Agency That Big Questions Belong to CongressThe major questions doctrine grew over 23 years. Five cases, each with the agency claim, the statute and the holding, and an answer to the invention charge. The Nondelegation Doctrine Says Congress Cannot Hand Its Job to Someone ElseArticle I vests all legislative power in Congress. Here is what the doctrine means, why the Court stopped enforcing it, and what reviving it would change. The Government Once Prosecuted Men Under a Rule That No Longer ExistedA 1935 oil case exposed that Washington could not find its own rules, and the embarrassment produced the Federal Register, whose volume now tells its own story. A Brooklyn Poultry Firm Beat the New Deal Nine to Nothing in 1935Schechter Poultry v. United States struck down the NIRA codes unanimously. The facts, the opinions and why no statute has fallen on nondelegation grounds since.
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