Diane Katz

  • Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy

Diane Katz, who has analyzed and written on public policy issues for more than two decades, is a research fellow in regulatory policy at The Heritage Foundation.

A veteran journalist and policy analyst from Detroit, Katz joined Heritage’s Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies in August 2010.

She previously was director of risk, environment and energy policy for three years at the Fraser Institute, an independent policy research and educational organization in Canada. From 2002 to 2008, she was director of science, environment and technology for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free market think tank in Midland, Mich.

As a member of the editorial board of the Detroit News for nine years, Katz specialized in writing about science and the environment, telecommunications and technology, and the auto industry. She also covered national issues as a reporter in the newspaper’s Washington bureau. Her work won top honors from the Michigan Press Association in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Katz’s analyses and commentary have been published by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, The Weekly Standard and Reason Magazine in addition to dozens of regional and local newspapers.

She has testified before Congress and several state legislatures. The State Policy Network, a coalition of more than 50 think tanks across the United States, appointed her to represent it on the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Katz was awarded fellowships by the Jack R. Howard Science Institute for Journalists at the California Institute of Technology, the Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship of the National Press Foundation and programs at the Kinship Conservation Institute and the Political Economy Research Center.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Thomas Jefferson College and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Michigan.

Katz currently resides in Detroit. Her daughter, Natalie, attends McGill University in Montreal.

All Publications by Diane Katz
  • WebMemo posted January 30, 2012 by Diane Katz CFPB Wields New Powers with Director

    Within hours of Richard Cordray assuming the role of director[1] at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), agency officials began exercising their newly expanded powers. Their immediate target is all manner of “nonbank”[2] financial services used by millions of households. While proponents contend that the new… Read more

  • WebMemo posted November 28, 2011 by Diane Katz CAFE Standards: Fleet-Wide Regulations Costly and Unwarranted

    Automakers would be required to double current fleet-wide fuel economy by 2025 under regulations proposed last week by the Obama Administration. Advocates contend that this crackdown on the internal combustion engine would reduce Americans’ “dependence on oil” and cut emissions of so-called greenhouse gases. Whether the… Read more

  • WebMemo posted October 31, 2011 by Diane Katz Dairy Security Act Would Milk Taxpayers

    As the congressional “super committee” grapples with deficit reduction, all manner of spending is under scrutiny. A small group of farm-state lawmakers is proposing an overhaul of dairy subsidies that would supposedly reduce outlays by $131 million over 10 years. That is just a quarter of the dollars doled out… Read more

  • WebMemo posted August 29, 2011 by Diane Katz The Diet Dictators’ Attack on Consumer Choice and Free Speech

    Federal regulators recently unleashed plans intended to radically restrict food choices for American children. Nutritional staples such as Cheerios, peanut butter, and yogurt are verboten under the proposed standards, which effectively constitute a government-regulated grocery list. Proponents contend they have only the best interests of overweight children in mind. Whether… Read more

  • WebMemo posted July 26, 2011 by Diane Katz Proxy Access Rule: Appeals Court Rejects SEC Regulation

    In an important victory for free enterprise, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has struck down the regulatory hijacking of corporate board elections. Authorized by the Dodd–Frank statute, the so-called proxy access rule crafted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was deemed… Read more

  • Backgrounder posted July 25, 2011 by James Gattuso, Diane Katz Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report

    Abstract: Following a record year of rulemaking, the Obama Administration is continuing to unleash more costly red tape. In the first six months of the 2011 fiscal year, 15 major regulations were issued, with annual costs exceeding $5.8… Read more

  • WebMemo posted July 21, 2011 by Diane Katz Dodd–Frank: One Year Later

    Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It comes in at some 2,300 pages, so it should surprise no one that dozens of regulatory deadlines have been missed, and a multitude of agencies are months behind in their rulemaking schedule. It is… Read more

  • WebMemo posted May 25, 2011 by Diane Katz EPA’s Boiler MACT Rules Still a Threat

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has postponed imposition of unduly onerous regulations governing emissions from hundreds of thousands of commercial, institutional, and industrial boilers. While the action is welcome, it would be premature to conclude that the Obama Administration has undergone a regulatory epiphany. Instead, the postponement reveals the extent… Read more

  • WebMemo posted April 7, 2011 by Diane Katz Reforming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Necessary to Protect Consumers

    Creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ranks among the most contentious provisions of the vast Dodd–Frank financial regulation statute.[1] Largely unaccountable to Congress and imbued with sweeping powers, the agency is the epitome of regulatory excess. Legislation introduced last month by Representative Spencer… Read more

  • WebMemo posted March 3, 2011 by Diane Katz Coming Clean on Regulatory Costs and Benefits

    Just hours before a congressional hearing this week related to the high costs of regulation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report purporting to show that the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990 will avert 230,000 premature deaths and yield economic benefits totaling $2 trillion in the year… Read more