Editorial Board
Don't Be Naive About Regulatory Reform
Congress will never like every federal rule. That doesn't mean it should be able to eliminate them.
A little serious.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThere are few things worse than red tape, and in government there is plenty to go around. That’s why House Speaker Paul Ryan’s latest regulatory-reform plan can’t be dismissed entirely. Just mostly.
Start with the worthwhile stuff. Making agencies coordinate better on rules that overlap is a good idea, as is offering longer public comment periods for the most sweeping regulations. It also makes sense to make routine the process by which agencies review old regulations to ensure they’re still necessary. And wider use of sunset provisions -- regulations that automatically expire unless agencies can show they’re still needed -- could help reduce regulatory overload.