Freedom Fight: Conservatives Debate How To Cut Red Tape Without DOGE

One conservative free-market advocate has a warning for Republicans: just because the Department of Government Efficiency is gone doesn’t mean we should stop cutting red tape.

At The Daily Wire’s RNC Midterm Convention event earlier this month in Dallas, Institute for Liberty President Andrew Langer argued that Republicans should focus on eliminating unnecessary regulations rather than simply making existing government programs more efficient or “conservative.”

Speaking with Daily Wire DC Bureau Chief Tim Rice, Langer discussed how government regulations can increase costs and limit individual freedom, why greater government efficiency does not necessarily solve underlying problems, and how Americans can weigh in on regulatory efforts currently underway.

“This is a question Washington’s been grappling with for basically since I’ve been in Washington, so for 30 years, with the environment, for instance, how clean is clean? At what level do we want to get down to?” Langer said. “And so having these conversations is important. But we have to remember that making things more efficient isn’t necessarily better.”

“This is one of the most important issues that Republicans used to talk about all the time, and that Republicans and conservatives are simply not talking about anymore,” Rice said, before addressing conservative criticism that regulations make government less efficient.

That prompted Langer to urge policymakers to engage in a deliberative process when considering regulations and warned about unintended, real-world consequences.

“But what happens is invariably a decision is made to go in a certain direction on a rulemaking or on a regulatory change, and we don’t look at the consequences of what that action might be. You know what happens if we create a low-flow toilet mandate that actually makes you have to flush toilets more often,” Langer said.

The discussion then turned to two current regulatory proposals involving electronic delivery of government documents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation E-Delivery in July, which would make electronic delivery the default option and end automatic paper delivery. The SEC said the proposal could reduce printing, paper, and postage costs.

“In an age of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, a default to paper delivery should be a relic, not a standard,” the SEC said.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has also proposed expanding electronic delivery. In July, the agency said the proposal could save group health plans an estimated $3.9 billion over 10 years. 

Langer argued that efficiency cannot always be the sole factor when changing government rules. He pointed to older Americans who may struggle to navigate digital systems. 

“I don’t know about you. My dad sadly just passed, but, you know, my dad was 90 when he passed. My mom is 82. My in-laws are in their 80s. We all know folks for whom doing things electronically is not what they want to do,” Langer said. 

He acknowledged the potential savings from electronic delivery but said policymakers also need to consider people — even if it’s 1% of the population — who may struggle to access information digitally.

“I understand the efficiency and why efficiency is important and why we want businesses to save money out there,” he said. “But on the other end, I also know the disaster that ensues if all of a sudden … they’re no longer able to easily get paper access.”

“I don’t mean to brush past the older folks or folks who are not comfortable with electronic billing,” Rice said. “That’s obviously important, and that’s individual choice. But there’s also a broader security issue.”

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