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Home to the most influential gathering of conservatives in the world. Continue to Homepage → Take Action Act Now → Stand with President Trump CPAC in DC 2025 Join the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world as we celebrate and get to work after winning back the Presidency, Senate and keeping the House. February 19-22, 2025 Get Tickets → E V E N T S Attend → CPAC in DC 2025 Learn Now → Explore Circle Membership, Planned Giving, and Sponsorship Give About CPAC Welcome to CPAC where we are PROTECTING AMERICA NOW! Home to the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world. Explore More → Internship Launch your career in the conservative movement. Apply Now → Gilbert and Aileen Chuck Legal Fellowship A Program for Law Students Seeking Careers in Public Policy. Apply Now → Submit Your Resume Email us a copy of your resume to CPAC@conservative.org Email → Vendors/Suppliers Email CPAC@Conservative.org Email → Careers Apply Now Make your mark by working in the conservative movement. Explore More → CPAC Now Featuring Julie Strauss Levin, Mercedes Schlapp, and others. Watch Now → From the Stage CPAC in Israel 2022 with Ben Shapiro Watch Now → CPAC Live Matt Schlapp, Mercedes Schlapp, Ric Grenell and others Watch Now → CPAC Stands with Israel 🇮🇱 Matt Schlapp, CPAC Chairman CPAC continues to stand strongly with Israel and our Jewish friends. Explore More → America Uncanceled Hosted by Matt and Mercy Explore More → It's Not About Us Hosted by Elaine Beck Explore More → Liberty and Justice Hosted by Matt Whitaker Explore More → The Bill Walton Show Hosted by Bill Walton Explore More → Stream the Movement The Culture Killers: The Woke Wars Watch this award winning documentary by CPAC. The woke wars are coming to a neighborhood near you. From major corporations to school boards to social media, free expression is under attack. Watch Now → Conservatism in your Inbox Sign-up Now → Email Alerts Get Involved with CPAC Give → Sign Petitions Explore Now → Watch CPAC Live Explore More → Attend Events Explore More → Stream CPAC Now Explore More → View Scorecards Explore More → Explore CPAC Foundation's Centers More → Center For Combatting Human Trafficking Explore Now → Center for Regulatory Freedom Explore More → Center for Legislative Accountability Explore More → Nolan Center for Justice Explore More → Center for Corporate Accountability Explore More → NEWS & RELEASES CPAC Releases 10th Edition of Idaho Legislative Scorecard, Revealing a Conservative Stronghold in the West View the Statement → CPAC's efforts to ensure Free and Fair Elections View the Statement → CPAC Foundation Ranks the Best Governors: Arkansas Governor Huckabee Sanders Tops the List View the Statement → Economy and Rising Cost of Living Top Priorities for Latino Voters: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s extremist policies will decimate U.S. economy with more big government, higher taxes and price controls View the Statement → CPAC Unidos and Bienvenido Action PAC Unite to Launch Latinas for Freedom View the Statement → View More → HAPPENING NOW Watch More on X → BLOG 64f0ec737ee37ca3e032bf4a CPAC Joins Policy Leaders in Arkansas in Taking the Next Step to Address Human Trafficking Read Now → 64f0ed3c5993175ad56c32c4 Powering the Great American Comeback: EPA’s Historic Deregulation is Unburdening American Economy, Rolling Back Woke Climate Policies Read Now → 64f0ed3c5993175ad56c32c4 CPAC 2025 and Beyond: A Roadmap to Lasting Regulatory Reform Read Now → 660c2ece0aaab985a5de7587 Schlapp Down: The Radical Left Continues to Get Even More Deranged Read Now → 660c4fbac5fcba282ce29561 The Parent Trap: What Happens When We Leave our Kids to the "Professionals" Read Now → View More → L I V E Watch Now → The Latest from CPAC Live CPAC Now More → . Watch Now → Endorsements CPAC enthusiastically endorses Donald J. Trump for President of the United States The extreme leftist marxists have infiltrated our colleges, universities, elementary schools, the military, in fact all of our sacred institutions. President Trump will win. He will be the 47th President and the best for America is yet to come. Explore Endorsements → Top News U.S. News Politics World Opinion Media Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Video Trump More Here are all the restrictions Biden's team demanded in their Trump debate offer → Entertainment Entertainment 9:36 PM Good Night, Conservatives! CPAC Voters Guide → E L E C T I O N D A Y -136 D A Y S Shop the CPAC Store Shop → Great Again! Shop Now → Protecting America Now Shop Now → Stop Human Trafficking Shop Now → Fight For America Shop Now → Frat Boys For America Shop Now → Good Night, Conservatives! CPAC in DC 2025 47 UPDATES . . Read Now → View More on X→

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in January, the United States has been on the right track to ending human trafficking. Several states are following the administration’s lead and are taking action to not only end human trafficking but also provide support for victims at the state level.   Arkansas, its state legislature and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is one of the best examples of this progress.     Human trafficking is a multi-faceted issue. The first step to addressing these horrific crimes is ending this modern-day slavery through a secure border that makes trafficking more difficult and enforcing laws that hold traffickers accountable for their crimes.     The next step is just as important – supporting the victims of this egregious crime. Not only are victims often left with trauma, mental struggles, and limited to no resources for restarting their lives, but many are also left with a criminal record. 62% of trafficking victims will be arrested and 80% of those arrests occur while they are under the influence of their trafficker.     Trafficking victims are often cited, arrested, and detained by law enforcement for crimes, such as prostitution, truancy, and curfew violations, that they are coerced into by their traffickers and would not otherwise commit. Victims’ encounters with the justice system that are a direct result of their trafficking often cause distrust of the justice system, throw them into a cycle of crime, and prevent them from receiving the help they need to escape trafficking and embark on a productive and safe life.     Thankfully, Arkansas’ Child Trafficking Victims Protection and Restoration Act aims to remedy this.     Introduced by State Senator Missy Irvin (75% CPAC Lifetime Rating), this conservative-led, but bipartisan effort would provide relief for victims of child trafficking who are coerced into other crimes and face significant financial and physical challenges after years of abuse.  The bill seeks to view those who committed crimes as a direct result of their trafficking as victims and consider their circumstances and trauma when evaluating their cases.     CPAC’s Center for Combating Human Trafficking has been working with the lawmakers, law enforcement leaders, and partner organizations like Human Rights for Kids to get this commonsense policy passed.  The act would make tremendous progress toward helping victims break free from trafficking and the cycle of crime to pursue a meaningful life as a free individual.    Our Center is prioritizing policies that provide support for the survivors of these horrific crimes which have exploded after years of the Biden administration neglecting our border crisis and refusing to prosecute traffickers. Laws like these give legal relief to survivors and provide resources so these incredible young men and women can repair their lives.   CPAC’s Center for Combating Human Trafficking is proud to join victim advocates, law enforcement, and survivors of human traffickers in supporting the Child Trafficking Victims Protection and Restoration Act in the Arkansas state legislature and look forward to advancing similar proposals around conservative states across our country.

In a major win for regulatory freedom, EPA Secretary Lee Zeldin announced on March 12 that the EPA will be initiating the largest deregulation in history.   “The Environmental Protection Agency is initiating 31 historic actions to fulfill President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, revitalize our auto industry, restore the rule of law, and give power back to the states. The EPA will be reconsidering many suffocating rules that restrict nearly every sector of our economy and cost Americans trillions of dollars,” said Secretary Zeldin in a video statement.   As part of this historic deregulation, the Trump EPA will be rolling back woke climate policies of the Biden administration that bogged down the American energy industry and drove up prices of goods for consumers.   “Today, the green new scam ends as the EPA does its part to usher in the golden age of American success,” stated Zeldin.  The EPA is starting by terminating the Biden-Harris electric vehicle mandate that would have required the majority of light-duty vehicles to be electric by 2032. The Trump EPA plans to reevaluate two other regulations, the Model Year 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles regulation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles, restrictions that cost the country an estimated $700 billion.   Zeldin also announced his intention to end the environmental justice and DEI programs of the EPA and the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Social Cost of Carbon” that promoted exaggerated statistics to justify denying permits, discourage the use of fossil fuels, and overall, stall the American economy and energy industry.    Just the elimination of these regulations will make strides to open up the American economy, but the Trump EPA is not stopping there. It also plans to rework regulations that inhibited coal-fired plants, oil and gas development, and domestic manufacturing.    ”Our actions will lower the cost of living by making it more affordable to purchase a car, heat your home, and operate a business. Jobs will be created, especially in the U.S. auto industry and our nation will become stronger for it,” promised Zeldin.   In a policy brief, CPAC’s Center for Regulatory Freedom urged that the 2009 Endangerment Finding be one of those regulations reconsidered and ultimately, rescinded by the EPA. The 2009 Endangerment Finding is an unscientific and climate alarmism-driven finding that was the basis for the Biden-Harris administration’s “Social Cost of Carbon” and has been used to justify unnecessary regulations on emissions.   In addition to reconsidering and rescinding existing regulations like these, CPAC urges Secretary Zeldin and the EPA to put a freeze on new rulemaking. Many rules that are currently in the pipeline are left over from the Biden-Harris administration and would only further promote climate alarmism and put shackles on domestic industry. Halting the rulemaking process is imperative to ensure the EPA’s historic deregulation efforts are not undermined.   With the current plans for deregulation and CPAC’s recommendations for rescinding radical regulations and pausing rulemaking, the EPA will be on the right track to serve the interests of the American people. The agency was the largest contributor to the Biden-Harris administration’s regulatory costs, spending a whopping $1.3 trillion on climate change.   Now, it’s Congress’ turn to take action that supports the deregulatory work in the EPA. Congress needs to revisit existing legislation, specifically the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, and clarify terms such as “hazardous air pollutants” and “waters of the U.S.” It also needs to use checks and balances to establish clear parameters for the EPA and rein in the administrative state.   States, too, need to cooperate with the deregulation effort and accept the power the EPA is handing back to them by establishing committees to oversee water and air quality and set environmental standards based on each state’s needs.    Secretary Zeldin and the EPA’s latest announcement is a major step in the right direction. Now, Congress and the states need to follow suit.

On Friday, February 21st, 2025, attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathered to discuss one of the most crucial yet often overlooked aspects of conservative governance: regulatory reform. Moderated by conservative commentator Scottie Nell Hughes, the panel included myself (Andrew Langer, Director of the CPAC Foundation Center for Regulatory Freedom), Wayne Crews, Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), and Matthew Jensen, Director of the Office for Fiscal and Regulatory Analysis at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). The panel focused on the economic burden of government regulation, the urgent need for substantial deregulation, and specific strategies for restoring congressional authority over our bloated administrative state. Scottie Nell Hughes kicked off the panel by highlighting Governor Doug Burgum’s powerful statement that "we need to embrace innovation over regulation to solve the challenges of the 21st century." This set the tone for an invigorating conversation focused squarely on the imperative for reducing federal overreach to reinvigorate economic freedom and prosperity. Early in the discussion, Wayne Crews, an authority in the field, emphasized the growth and danger of “regulatory dark matter,” a term he coined referring to the countless guidance documents, notices, bulletins, and informal interpretations issued by federal agencies without congressional oversight or adequate transparency. As Crews outlined, regulatory dark matter is often far more pervasive than formal regulations and insidiously bypasses established procedures like notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). This undermines democratic accountability and has severe economic consequences. As the conversation unfolded, we addressed the enormous fiscal impact of regulations. Matthew Jensen presented alarming data indicating that federal regulations impose an annual cost between $2 to $4 trillion, significantly hindering GDP growth, employment opportunities, and innovation. Jensen emphasized the hidden "opportunity cost" of regulations—how every dollar or hour businesses spend complying with bureaucratic mandates detracts significantly from productive investment and innovation. Citing research, Jensen noted that regulations potentially reduce GDP by at least 25%, equating to more than a trillion dollars annually in lost economic output and revenue. Building on Jensen’s points, I stressed how the Biden administration had aggressively expanded regulations using a "whole-of-government" approach, embedding regulatory agendas in traditionally unrelated agencies. From energy regulations handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to infringements on religious freedom managed by the Department of Education, the regulatory state metastasized under Biden. I specifically criticized recent Biden-era offshore drilling regulations designed explicitly to stifle economic growth, suggesting these regulations are prime targets for immediate rollback. The panel also delved into the landmark Supreme Court decision overturning the Chevron Doctrine—a ruling that historically granted extensive deference to federal agency interpretations of law. This ruling, known as Looper Bright, restores legislative authority explicitly back to Congress. I explained how overturning Chevron opens opportunities for Congress to reassert its constitutionally mandated legislative powers, curb excessive regulatory interpretations by unelected bureaucrats, and reinstate democratic accountability in government decision-making. Wayne Crews contributed valuable insights into President Trump’s ambitious regulatory reform initiatives. He highlighted Trump’s powerful new executive order—"one in, ten out"—which mandates that for every new federal regulation implemented, ten existing regulations must be repealed. Additionally, Trump expanded the scope of regulatory review to include historically independent agencies like the FCC and FTC, drastically limiting their unilateral regulatory power. Such measures represent monumental steps forward in limiting the regulatory state and bolstering economic liberty. Our conversation recognized that the regulatory battle extends beyond mere reduction—it requires the abolition of certain agencies and permanent curtailment of regulatory authority. Crews articulated this clearly, warning that temporary deregulation measures alone cannot guarantee lasting freedom from government overreach. Instead, the complete dismantling of unnecessary agencies, along with the legislative repeal of enabling statutes that empower bureaucratic expansion, remains imperative. The REINS Act—requiring explicit congressional approval for significant regulations—was highlighted as a crucial legislative tool for maintaining deregulatory gains. At this juncture, it's crucial to highlight the groundbreaking framework recently outlined by Wayne Crews on the CEI blog, titled "Let the Deconstruction Commence." Crews' innovative "Hierarchy of Deconstruction" details a strategic roadmap that Congress should follow to dismantle the entrenched administrative state systematically. His hierarchy emphasizes crucial initial actions such as immediately freezing regulatory pipelines, using the Congressional Review Act to reject recently enacted major regulations, and aggressively rolling back Obama-era "regulatory dark matter." Crews emphasizes targeting so-called "sub-major" rules, underscoring the pervasive and often underestimated economic impacts these minor-seeming rules impose. His framework strongly advocates placing independent regulatory agencies under direct OMB oversight, ending indirect regulatory practices via federal grants, and ultimately abolishing redundant or harmful agencies altogether. Importantly, Crews' framework aligns perfectly with President Trump’s recent executive actions aimed explicitly at empowering agency-level "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Team Leads" to initiate agency dismantling. Crews persuasively argues that true deregulation means removing the structural foundations of the regulatory state, not merely trimming around its edges. His blog meticulously illustrates that meaningful reform demands Congress reclaim its law-making authority decisively and permanently, rejecting the status quo of regulatory creep. Back at CPAC, Matthew Jensen’s perspective complemented Crews’ framework by emphasizing the need to consider regulations' fiscal impact when leveraging legislative strategies like budget reconciliation. Jensen articulated a nuanced strategy that not only makes a compelling economic case for deregulation but also strategically employs legislative maneuvers to achieve sustainable regulatory reforms. This combination—of executive orders, legislative precision, and fiscal justification—creates a formidable front for conservatives seeking lasting regulatory freedom. The panel concluded on a crucial acknowledgment: achieving lasting deregulation requires vigilance, political courage, and a willingness to confront the entrenched interests benefiting from regulatory bloat. Behind every harmful regulation lies a lobbying group or special interest profiting from government intrusion. Breaking these chains necessitates persistent efforts, continuous public education, and unwavering commitment to restoring constitutional governance. At its heart, the CPAC 2025 Regulatory Panel wasn’t merely an academic debate—it was a clarion call for sustained action. As I concluded at the conference, conservatives must seize the moment afforded by President Trump's recent executive orders and Supreme Court victories to embed lasting regulatory reform. Combining Wayne Crews’ strategic "Hierarchy of Deconstruction," Matthew Jensen’s fiscal rigor, and the political determination emphasized by Scottie Nell Hughes, we have a clear, actionable blueprint for change. As conservatives, our mandate moving forward is crystal clear: We must aggressively reclaim congressional authority, abolish unaccountable bureaucratic power, and institutionalize permanent constraints on the administrative state. The roadmap articulated at CPAC 2025 provides us not merely with hope—but a realistic strategy to restore the constitutional governance and economic liberty America was founded upon. Now is the time for bold action. The regulatory state will not dismantle itself, nor will entrenched interests quietly surrender their privileges. By working together to follow the roadmap detailed at CPAC—and powerfully reinforced by Wayne Crews' insightful "Let the Deconstruction Commence" blog—we will reclaim American prosperity, restore government accountability, and ensure lasting freedom from regulatory tyranny. The future of our economic liberty depends on it.