Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow who specializes in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Lieberman has returned to CEI after serving seven years as a senior counsel on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. As a congressional staffer, he worked on a number of issues related to fuels and vehicles, including the Renewable Fuel Standard and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. He also worked on energy infrastructure permitting reform, home appliance energy efficiency standards, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Previously in his career, Lieberman completed a decade-long stint at CEI as well as five years at the Heritage Foundation. He will continue to work on energy and environmental policy issues in his latest position at CEI, with an emphasis on reforming the federal permitting process for projects that are subject to it.
Lieberman has published hundreds of op-eds and articles, including in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, Weekly Standard, and National Review. He has appeared on a number of radio and television programs on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and CNBC. He has also testified before Congress on a number of energy and environmental issues.
Lieberman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, and his law degree from the George Washington University School of Law.
Authored by Ben Lieberman
News
Affordable transportation should be celebrated over “World Car-Free Day”
September 22 is associated with “World Car-Free Day”, an occasion aimed at prodding people to find alternative ways to travel around that day. CEI Senior…
DOE adopts CEI view on appliance water and energy limits
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new rules on appliance energy and water limits Friday that agreed with the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI)…
Senate votes to repeal Biden rule against water heaters
Today the U.S. Senate voted on a joint resolution to repeal a Biden-era Energy Department rule imposing unwarranted energy efficiency restrictions on consumer water…
Blog
Affordable manufactured housing versus unaffordable climate regulations
- By: Ben Lieberman
The Biden administration had a field day piling on one costly climate-related regulation after another, not knowing – or caring – that affordability would emerge…
Fly the (climate) friendly skies? Delta is having second thoughts
- By: Ben Lieberman
Delta Air Lines has quietly backed away from its pledge to use 10 percent sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) by 2030, citing the lack…
Executive order embraces limited government approach to housing affordability
- By: Ben Lieberman
A March 13 Trump executive order, “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction,” offers a number of good ideas for addressing high housing costs.
Op-Eds/Articles
The Mortgage Note
Federal Court Rejects Costly Green Housing Policy
The Biden administration’s obsession with climate change has contributed to the housing affordability challenges Americans face today, and there are many harmful green policies…
Human Progress
Olive Oil Prices Are Falling—So Should Olive Oil Climate Hysteria
- By: Ben Lieberman
Summary: Olive oil prices spiked in 2023 amid heat and drought in Spain, prompting widespread claims that climate change was driving the industry into crisis.
National Review
House Passes Bill Pushing Back on Federal Appliance Meddling
- By: Ben Lieberman
They’re the regulations that literally hit home, and rarely in a good way. The Department of Energy sets energy efficiency standards for just…
Studies
Free the Appliances!
- By: Ben Lieberman
Introduction The Department of Energy’s (DOE) appliance efficiency standards program has been in place for decades, subjecting nearly every major home appliance to multiple rounds…
Forcing the UN’s Hand on China
- By: Ben Lieberman
Most United Nations (UN) environmental treaties are a bad deal for America that are made worse by classifying China as a developing nation and thus…
Would More Electric Vehicles Be Good for the Environment?
- By: Ben Lieberman
Executive Summary The environmental advantages of electric vehicles (EVs) over internal combustion engine-powered vehicles are as obvious as the lack of a tailpipe emitting air…
Citations
4 things to watch at DOE in 2026
- By: Ben Lieberman
E&E News cited CEI expert on DOE “The program has been stretched well beyond its statutory intent and used as a vehicle for climate policy,”…
The Washington Free Beacon
Mainstream Media Reports Cite ‘Nonpartisan’ Research Firm to Trash Trump’s Repeal of Green Energy Subsidies. Its Leader Helped Biden Write Those Subsidies Into Law.
- By: Ben Lieberman
In other words, Energy Innovation didn’t properly analyze the impacts greater wind and solar reliance have on consumers, Stein told the Washington Free Beacon. “They make…
Impact Of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – ‘Clean Energy Ghost Towns’
- By: Ben Lieberman
MRCTV cited CEI’s expert on Inflation Reduction Act Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute recently testified before the House Oversight Committee on the impacts of…
Regulatory Comments
How EPA’s Regional Haze Overreach Undermines State Authority and Ignores Emissions Progress
- By: Ben Lieberman
I. Introduction The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a policy and research organization dedicated to advancing the principles of free markets and limited government.
Coalition Comment on EPA’s Proposed HFC Technology Transitions Reconsideration Rule
- By: Ben Lieberman
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0005: Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Reconsideration of Certain Regulatory Requirements Promulgated Under the Technology Transitions Provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act…
CEI Comments on Proposed Environmental Protection Agency Rule Repealing 2024 Mercury Provisions for Coal-Fired Power Plants
- By: Ben Lieberman
August 11, 2025 Environmental Protection Agency: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Notice…