President Biden’s July 9 executive order to promote competition in the American economy is the subject of a feature inside this monthly edition of IB. The order has been described as “massive” and “sweeping” because it calls on the leading antitrust agencies, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, to enforce the nation’s antitrust laws more vigorously.
Heightened enforcement will likely bring new or revised regulations pertaining to agriculture, health care, technology, and labor markets. Business operators can keep track of what federal agencies are proposing and even try to influence the regulations as part of the rule-making process, and we suggest they take an active role as “influencers.”
When federal agencies plan to issue a new regulation or revise an existing one, they typically place an announcement in the Federal Register on the day the public comment period begins. Matters that are open to public comment also can be found in the media and at regulations.gov, which has a modernized user interface and an improved search engine where people can find a proposed rule and submit comments electronically.
Susan Webb Yackee, a political science professor and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, notes that federal agencies generally follow the same process for issuing legally binding regulations. They are required by law to first issue a “proposed rule,” which is a draft regulation open for public comment. This also includes the ability of citizens or organizations to submit a written letter that contains specific changes they would like to see made in the draft rule and emphasize things they like about it.
“After taking in those comments and considering them, the agency will generally issue a final rule, which is enforceable as law,” Yackee explains. “The agency may or may not follow the advice provided in the comments, but it must discuss the major themes in the public comments and provide a rationale for its decision-making.”
Rule changes between the draft and final stages occur frequently, she adds. Her research demonstrates that when many commenters write an agency regarding the same topic, regulatory change is more likely to occur. In other words, business operators and industry groups are not helpless bystanders in this process, and given the stakes involved, they shouldn’t be.
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