Zero Is the Magic Number for Cutting Red Tape

"One of President Trump's executive orders could transform how the federal government reviews and manages energy regulations that rule and constrain our lives. The new directive borrows from the business world by introducing a process known as zero-based regulatory budgeting. This process requires programs to be justified from scratch each budget cycle, rather than assuming prior-year allocations should continue.

The zero-based regulation approach has been effective in Idaho, which implemented an aggressive regulatory sunset process in 2019, wiping tens of thousands of restrictions off the books. Since then, the state has maintained a rolling five-year review cycle, requiring agencies to scrap rules and repromulgate those worth keeping.

Mr. Trump's executive order borrows heavily from Idaho's experience but so far is limited to energy regulations, requiring regulators to establish their own version of a sunset review, tailored to agencies' unique congressional mandates.

The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, among others, will begin crafting rules for procedures to implement this mandate and identify which statutes provide the legal basis for sunset reviews. Agencies may rely on broad "housekeeping" authorities, which grant them general powers to structure internal management processes. They can lean on such provisions as Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which requires agencies to review rules to reduce effects on small businesses. Particular agencies will likely point to other authorities unique to their operations that permit them to adopt a periodic review process.

These agency-specific process regulations will be enacted via the official rulemaking process, and they will insert sunset provisions into departments' respective sections of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. Litigation is likely to follow as progressive interest groups claim the executive branch has no right or reason to sunset existing rules. But states' experiences suggest otherwise. Roughly a third of America's 50 states have some form of sunset review for regulations, as do many countries. These reviews aren't radical. They are standard tools of good governance.

Still, activists will say essential protections are under attack. Some businesses will object too. That's because rules entrench incumbents and block out competition. When red tape is cut, startups and small firms benefit most, not the biggest players who have already complied with the mountains of requirements on the books.

That's one reason deregulation can be a hard sell politically. The benefits of streamlining regulation are spread diffusely across consumers and new market entrants. There's no ultra-motivated, well-organized constituency to fight for deregulation. But the economic payoff can be huge.

British Columbia is a striking success story. In the early 2000s, the Canadian province reduced its regulatory requirements by more than one-third. Research suggests this added about 1 percentage point to its annual growth rate. Idaho also cut its regulatory pages by more than 30% and now ranks as the least regulated state in the nation. That kind of progress is possible at the federal level.

Agencies are expected to move quickly under the executive order, which requires that sunset rules be in effect by the end of September and expiration dates be set no later than a year after that. Even if only a few departments conduct meaningful reviews and let many rules expire, that would be a historic achievement. And if momentum builds, the effort could snowball into one of the most significant regulatory reforms in U.S. history.

This narrow reform should only be the beginning. Additional directives could extend zero-based regulatory budgeting beyond energy regulators. Congress also has a role to play. Codifying the executive order into law would ensure that this initiative endures beyond the current administration.

It's rare to see an executive action that has the potential to bend permanently the trajectory of the regulatory state. Yet this one could. By flipping the default so that rules must be rejustified or disappear, zero-based regulatory budgeting could transform how Washington governs. That means fewer outdated rules clogging the economy and lower compliance burdens for businesses and households. Most important, it means a government more focused on results than red tape.

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Mr. Broughel is a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute." [1]

1.  Zero Is the Magic Number for Cutting Red Tape, Broughel, James.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 17 Apr 2025: A17.   
  

 

Further evidence that Zelensky’s terrorists are using civilians as shields, like other terrorists, is that the Russian attack in Sumy took place during a military medal ceremony

 

“A military medal ceremony was taking place in the center of Sumy during the Russian missile attack,” Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr confirmed to the Washington Post.

 

Many residents of the grieving city, including 38-year-old Oleksandr, have directed their anger at the organizers of the military medal ceremony, who may have been targeted by the Russian strikes. In an hour-long interview, Oleksandr, whom The Washington Post, in compliance with military regulations and in order to avoid punishment from higher-ups, is naming only his first name, said that the plans for the military parade probably caught Russia’s attention. Oleksandr said that holding the ceremony was unnecessary and irresponsible.

 

Based on information from the Washington Post.”

 

Dar vienas įrodymas, kad Zelenskio teroristai prisidengia civiliais, kaip ir kiti teroristai, nes Rusijos ataka Sumuose vyko per karinių medalių įteikimo ceremoniją

"Per Rusijos raketų ataką Sumų miesto centre vyko karinių medalių įteikimo ceremoniją. Tai laikraščiui „Washington Post“ patvirtino ukrainiečių karys Oleksandras.

 

Daugelis šio gedinčio miesto gyventojų, tarp jų ir 38 metų Oleksandras, savo pyktį nukreipė į karinių medalių įteikimo ceremonijos organizatorius, kurie galėjo būti Rusijos smūgių taikinys. Valandą trukusiame interviu Oleksandras, kurį laikraštis „The Washington Post“, laikydamasis karinių taisyklių ir siekdamas išvengti aukštesnės vadovybės bausmės, įvardija tik vardu, sakė, kad karo iškilmių planai, tikriausiai, atkreipė Rusijos dėmesį. Oleksandras sakė, kad rengti ceremoniją buvo nereikalinga ir neatsakinga.

 

Parengta pagal „Washington Post“ inf.”