Founded in 1984, the Competitive Enterprise Institute is a public interest organization dedicated to advancing limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty.

Congress frequently has tax cut fights that focus on the “cost” of government.  This is all well and good, yet Congress has never had a real debate on the $1 trillion yearly cost of complying with government regulations.

That’s where CEI comes in.

We focus our efforts on beating back regulations, which amount to hidden taxes that inhibit individuals from engaging in the entrepreneurship needed if we are to return to a robust economy.  Our goal is to liberate to stimulate. 

CEI is not content to write a study and let it sit on the shelves – we forcefully advocate for change.  Our analysts publish several opinion articles per week, are quoted nearly 1,500 times in print and online media each year, and make hundreds of appearances in the broadcast media.  We work to educate lawmakers and regulators about the dangers of increasing government intervention in the daily lives of Americans.

But our activism doesn’t stop there!  When government excesses run afoul of the law, CEI turns to the courts.  In the words of CEI President Fred Smith, “politicians and regulators can ignore us if we try to talk to them.  But if they do that in the courts, they lose.  By suing government we force them to go on the record.”  Our lawsuits over the years have forced the federal government to release the real costs of cap-and-trade and, in June 2010, CEI even had a win before the U.S. Supreme Court!

This “full-service” approach allows CEI to be a forceful advocate for freedom.

CEI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit educational institute.  We do not accept government grants nor do we engage in contract work.  Our efforts are made possible by the generous support of over 3,000 donors nationwide.

A timeline of the milestones and achievements that CEI has made in the past 25 years  can be viewed in this synopsis. 

What others say about CEI:

• Fortune: “While many on the right are lying low while the free market implodes, the Competitive Enterprise Institute isn't backing down, fighting on fronts from the bailout to green energy.”
• The Business Insider: CEI’s “Myron Ebell may be enemy #1 to the current climate change community.”
• Steve Forbes: “Over its 25-year history, CEI has played a critical role in preventing the worst of the left's utopian nightmares from becoming reality, and in undoing some of the damage those policies have created.”
• Ron Paul: "CEI is a true asset to the freedom movement, on issues form global warming to financial regulation, I can always count on CEI to effectively make a principled case for liberty"
• William Armstrong, President of Colorado Christian University and former Senator (R-CO) on Ten Thousand Commandments:  “This is an excellent piece of work and an invaluable reference.”
• Al Gore on CEI (lamenting):”… over 20 years, I have seen them have a tremendous effect.”