Reduce regulatory capture by addressing the root cause — the resource asymmetry between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate — through a dedicated Regulatory Independence Fund (RIF) that provides automatic, multi-year funding to major regulatory agencies independent of political budget cycles.

The RIF has four key components: (1) Statutory minimum funding floors: Each major regulatory agency (FDA, EPA, OSHA, FTC, etc.) receives funding equal to 5% of the annual revenue of the sectors it regulates. This aligns regulatory resources with industry size and ensures underfunding is not an excuse for capture.

(2) Dedicated rule-making budgets for high-priority areas (safety, environmental impact assessment, market integrity) that cannot be raided for other agency purposes.

(3) Legal defense fund: Agencies can draw dedicated resources for defending rules against industry litigation, eliminating the current dynamic where agencies win at the scientific/technical level but lose in court because they lack adequate legal resources.

(4) Talent pipeline: Regulatory agencies can offer salaries competitive with private sector counterparts (currently 30-50% lower), reducing the revolving door incentive. Modeled on the independence model used for independent central banks, the RIF removes annual budget negotiations that create points of political leverage.