Somebody forgot to tell Washington's regulatory agencies that it's Congress that makes laws governing American commerce.

According to a new Competitive Enterprise Institute study provided to Secrets, agency bureaucrats have finalized 47 times more new rules than laws passed in 2011, a runaway record over the past nine years.

CEI found that Congress passed just 81 new laws in 2011, but regulators OK'd 3,807 regulations. A year earlier, Congress approved 217 new laws compared to 3,573 rules, or 16 times more rules.

"It's quite eye-opening," said CEI's Wayne Crews. "Regulators issue vastly more rules than those elected to make laws. Calling it unaccountable rulemaking is an understatement. It's un-Democratic."

The business community has complained bitterly for years about the burden of new regulations under Obama and this will give them new ammo to fight the administration.

Year Bills Rules Multiple

2003 198 4,148 21

2004 299 4,101 14

2005 161 3,943 24

2006 321 3,718 12

2007 188 3,595 19

2008 285 3,830 13

2009 125 3,503 28

2010 217 3,573 16

2011 81 3,807 47