Paperwork Isn’t Neutral. It Raises Prices, Delays Care, and Weakens National Security.

This week, CPAC's Center for Regulatory Freedom filed comments with federal agencies across energy, healthcare, national security, agriculture, financial regulation, transportation, and space policy.

Why?

Because paperwork isn’t just paperwork.

It affects the price of food. It affects whether small businesses can compete. It affects whether cancer patients get treatment on time. It affects whether foreign governments influence U.S. intelligence contractors. It affects whether America stays competitive in space and technology.

Regulatory fine print shapes real life- And CPAC shows up to deal with the fine print.

Affordability: When Red Tape Becomes a Hidden Tax

Several of our filings focused on a simple truth: excessive regulatory burden eventually lands on consumers.

At the Food and Drug Administration, we addressed expanding paperwork requirements. Food safety matters--and the ability to trace food sources matters. But when compliance systems become overly complex, the cost doesn’t disappear — it shows up in grocery bills. And small, independent producers feel that pressure first.

At the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, we examined layered mortgage and banking disclosure mandates. Each new reporting rule may seem modest in isolation. But in aggregate, cumulative paperwork drives up compliance costs, pushes smaller lenders out of the market, and ultimately reduces affordable credit for first-time homebuyers.

At CMS, we focused on Medicare enrollment paperwork for physicians and non-physician practitioners. When independent practices face unnecessary administrative barriers, patients lose access. Simplifying enrollment strengthens competition and supports care access — especially in rural and underserved communities.

Energy affordability was also front and center. In our comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on LNG and price transparency reporting, we emphasized the need to detect market manipulation without imposing excessive reporting regimes that raise compliance costs and ultimately increase household energy prices.

Paperwork, when poorly designed, becomes a quiet, not-so-hidden tax.

National Security: Strategic Infrastructure Requires Strategic Oversight

Other filings this week focused squarely on national security.

At the Department of Agriculture, we addressed foreign ownership reporting for American farmland. America’s farmland is not just real estate — it is strategic infrastructure. We support stronger transparency and enforcement to guard against adversarial influence. But the rules must not become so burdensome that they price family farms out of the market.

At the Department of Defense, we addressed Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) oversight for contractors performing sensitive government work. Strong vetting is essential. Foreign governments should not exert hidden influence over companies working with U.S. intelligence or defense agencies.

Oversight must be robust — and smart.

We also filed on federal procurement rules related to foreign products in national security contracting. Protecting supply chains from adversarial influence is critical. But certification and compliance requirements should be risk-based, not duplicative or needlessly complex.

At NASA, we weighed in on Administrative False Claims Act implementation. As America pushes toward Moon-to-Mars missions, strong fraud enforcement protects taxpayer investment and ensures that innovation partnerships remain accountable. Exploration requires ambition — but it also requires discipline.

National security and regulatory discipline are not in tension. They reinforce each other.

Innovation and Access: Protecting Progress Without Smothering It

Innovation thrives when oversight is serious — and proportional.

At the U.S. Trade Representative, we urged a strong defense of American intellectual property in the 2026 Special 301 Review. Weak global IP protections discourage investment in cutting-edge technologies and medicines. Strong IP frameworks support innovation, high-wage jobs, and long-term competitiveness.

At the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, we addressed transportation paperwork for medical isotopes used in cancer treatments. Nuclear safety is non-negotiable. But repetitive shipment-by-shipment documentation for routine medical materials can slow the delivery of time-sensitive therapies. Streamlined processes preserve safety while improving patient access.

Innovation is not advanced by bureaucratic excess. It is advanced by clarity and accountability.

Showing Up Where It Matters

Most people never read the Federal Register.

But that’s where policy is shaped — line by line.

This week alone, we engaged across agencies that touch food prices, housing access, healthcare delivery, national defense, energy reliability, and space exploration.

Regulation can protect the public — or quietly burden it. Oversight can strengthen markets — or entrench incumbents. Paperwork can serve accountability — or become an obstacle to opportunity.

We believe it should serve the public.

And that means showing up — consistently — wherever the rules are written.