Articles

The Congressional Review Act should be one of the nation’s least controversial laws. To restore some measure of democratic accountability to the administrative state, it requires federal agencies to submit the rules they impose on us to our elected representatives for review before they go into effect. That’s it! The law imposes a simpl ...

The designation of critical habitat for jaguar in New Mexico unnecessarily ties thousands of acres of land in red tape. The rule makes it harder for ranchers to get grazing permits, build corrals, stock ponds, or additional fences. … ...

In 2014, the federal government designated thousands of acres in New Mexico as “critical habitat” for the jaguar. The designation is absurd, because as cat-lovers know, jaguars prefer the wet, tropical climates of Central and South America forests, to the dry, arid wilderness of the Southwest. The designation should also trouble liberty ...

On June 28, The Heritage Foundation will host a panel on Capitol Hill titled “Reducing the Regulatory Obstacles in Agriculture.” While government has imposed many regulatory obstacles on individuals and business owners in virtually every industry, those that farmers face are multiplying rapidly. As we’ve explained many times on Li ...

Last November, we explained how the U.S. Senate was using a special procedure under the Congressional Review Act to enact a congressional “resolution of disapproval” that would overturn the illegal Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation jointly issued by U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. That same post also reminded Libe ...

After five-and-a-half years of litigation and advocacy by PLF, Matt Sissel’s constitutional challenge to ObamaCare will be reviewed and discussed at the highest levels of the federal government, at least in the two branches not headed by someone named Obama. In short, Sissel’s constitutional challenge will be discussed this week by Just ...

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate used a rare procedural device to pass Senate Joint Resolution 22, which would effectively negate the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation issued jointly this summer by U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Senate “resolution of disapproval” was sponsored and passionately advanced by ...

Liberty Blog readers know that the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule issued earlier this summer is not only a brazen power grab by the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers that will create additional costs, risks, and confusion for ordinary property owners, but that it is also blatantly illegal. Last week, as … ...

The newly elected 114th Congress will take office in January.  Amid the political commentary surrounding this month’s elections, many talking heads have discussed whether the nation will relive another government shutdown as Republicans in the legislative majority seek leverage over President Obama’s Democrats who control the execut ...