The executive branch
regulation
A binding rule written by a federal agency under authority Congress gave it. It has the force of law, but it is not a statute and can be changed without Congress.
In full
Congress rarely writes the operational detail of a program, so it delegates: the statute sets the goal and the agency writes the rules. Those rules go through notice and comment, are published in the Federal Register, and are collected in the Code of Federal Regulations. Because a regulation is the agency's own work, a new administration can revise or repeal it through the same process.
Also written as: rule, regulations
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.