Regulatory reform is a catch-all term used to describe attempts or proposals to change the way the Federal government regulates. In its most common usage, it is a label given to a series of efforts begun during the Ford Administration that attempted to gain some control over the increasing impact of Federal regulation on the private sector. President Ford's E.O. 11821 ("Inflation Impact Statement"), President Carter's E.O. 12044 ("Improving Government Regulations"), President Reagan's E.O. 12291 ("Federal Regulation"), and President Clinton's E.O. 12866 ("Regulatory Planning and Review") were all "regulatory reform" initiatives. Congress passed the Paperwork Reduction Act (Pub. L. 96-511) in 1980, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354) in 1980, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-4) in 1995, and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. No. 104-121, title II) in 1996 as regulatory reform measures. Deregulation of airlines, trucking, and railroads have also been included under the regulatory reform label.

In addition to the described measures, many other regulation-related laws were considered reforms at the time of their enactment. Some examples include the 1966 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the FOIA Amendments of 1974, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976.

In the past decade, Congress has also considered several versions of a "comprehensive" Regulatory Reform Act, but none have been enacted.