Regulatory relationships

Here the task is to find the false statement. An agency and the businesses it oversees are usually closely tied. Staff move back and forth between the two, a pattern called the revolving door. Agencies lean on industry support when they ask Congress for money. And rules are written only after comment periods where industry views are heard. So agencies usually do consult the regulated industry, which makes D the false statement and the answer.

The others are all true, and several describe what political scientists call agency capture.

Each choice

• A. Agencies often hire experts from the industry they oversee. This is the revolving door, and it is true.
• B. Regulated industries are often an agency's most interested supporters before Congress, so this is true.
• C. A new president appoints new agency leaders with new priorities, so the relationship can shift. This is true.
• D (correct). Agencies consult the regulated industry all the time, from public comment on rules to informal contacts, so this is the false statement.
• E. Agency staff often move to industry jobs when they leave. This is the other half of the revolving door, and it is true.