A Study of the Birth and Death of a Regulatory Agenda

Abstract

It has long been the case that once funded, government programs are almost impossible to eliminate—and this remains true despite the Reagan administration's efforts in several areas. Most organizations build up constituencies over the years that can be called upon to protect them if threatened. Thus it was particularly remarkable that the administration was able to disband the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during itsfirst term and thus halt a major social regulatory program without a public outcry. This article chronicles the history of this short-lived regulatory program and suggests how economic analysis and politics combined to allow the Reagan administration to zero out the program.