During a congressional hearing, former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., criticized the increasing size of federal regulations. He cited a chart from a book written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a piece titled Overruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law. Schmidt specifically mentioned data gathered by the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University, which shows a big increase in the Federal Register’s pages from 10,000 in 1950 to nearly 200,000 today.
Schmidt said that this increase in regulations is a great burden to everyday Americans, particularly those in Kansas. “They’re not worried about the academic impact and the theory,” he stated. “They’re worried about what it means for their day-to-day lives and can they stay compliant and can they continue to operate and can they pursue the American dream.”
