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Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Washington Times
Past the tipping point? Survey finds most Americans say tipping is ‘out of control’
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in an article on the Washington Times about tipping in American businesses: Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian…
Washington Times
Environmental group pushes retail associates to discourage gas stove purchases
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited in the Washington Times about appliances: Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
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Blog
Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Washington Times
Past the tipping point? Survey finds most Americans say tipping is ‘out of control’
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in an article on the Washington Times about tipping in American businesses: Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian…
Washington Times
Environmental group pushes retail associates to discourage gas stove purchases
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited in the Washington Times about appliances: Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Blog
Congress takes on anti-consumer furnace regulation
CEI suggested five bad appliance regulations Congress should reject with the Congressional Review Act last November. Now, Congress has taken up the first target…
News Release
Biden Energy Department Unveils New Rules Against Residential Cooking Appliances
Today the U.S. Energy Department unveiled its final rule mandating energy efficiency standards for residential cooking appliances such as gas stoves. CEI Senior…
The Washington Examiner
A dishwasher decision that is great news for consumers
A recent court ruling set new limits on the power of federal bureaucrats to impose unwanted mandates on consumer appliances. In a Jan.
Blog
House should brake bureaucrats limiting vehicle choice with CARS Act
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to limit the ability of Americans to buy gas-powered cars. That is, the cars that people actually want…
Blog
Wall Street Journal reports consumer frustrations with over-regulated appliances
2023 is turning into the year of bad appliance regulations. Since January, CEI has submitted comments critical of proposed Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency…
Blog
Cold truth about government pushing electric: Natural gas is much cheaper
The Department of Energy (DOE) has repeatedly documented that using natural gas in homes is far cheaper than using electricity.This hasn’t stopped the Biden…
Blog
Slice the regulatory turkey this Thanksgiving
The turkeys Liberty and Bell just received a Thanksgiving pardon from Joe Biden. The official presentation of a turkey for a presidential pardon and rescue…
Blog
Biden admin appliance regulations are bad for small businesses and homeowners
Department of Energy (DOE) bureaucrats are making 2023 a bad year for homeowners with an avalanche of proposed and final appliance regulations impacting stoves, washing…
Blog
5 bad appliance regulations Congress should reject with the Congressional Review Act
This is the third article in CEI’s Special Briefing Series: Defending the Personal Energy Choices of Americans. It isn’t just gas stoves. The Biden administration has…
Blog
Biden administration cites fanciful numbers to support ‘right to repair’
The Biden White House hosted an event on right to repair last Tuesday to provide information “about federal and state efforts to strengthen the…
Blog
Federal energy efficiency requirements are outdated and should be repealed
This is the second article in CEI’s Special Briefing Series: Defending the Personal Energy Choices of Americans. Americans have experienced appliance inflation over the past…
Blog
New EPA air conditioner regulation certain to get homeowners heated up
Another Friday news dump, another bad Biden administration appliance regulation slipped in ahead of the weekend. Last Friday it was one targeting air conditioners –…
Blog
House Republicans try defunding the home appliance regulators
This year began with a powerful consumer backlash to the suggestion from a Biden administration official that gas stoves may be banned, followed by…
Blog
Biden administration finalizes costly and unnecessary furnace regulations
There’s a lot of consumer anger over pending federal regulations targeting stoves, but Biden administration bureaucrats are also going after dishwashers, refrigerators,…
Real Clear Markets
Barbie, Hot Wheels, and the Market for Lemons
The Barbie movie is more than a bit of good fun. It also teaches an economics lesson about lemons—the old slang term for defective goods, not the…
Blog
Now the Biden administration is targeting your next water heater
As discussed in recent CEI testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Biden administration Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed an avalanche…
Blog
Will polyester recycling become fashionable?
The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating article last week on the future of innovation and technology, but it’s not about AI or semiconductors.
Reason
Environmentalists Are Destroying My Kitchen
Reason Magazine cites CEI’s Devin Watkins and Sam Kazman on environmentalist agendas: “When a new energy standard is adopted by the DOE, the result is…
Blog
Climate policy deserves thoughtful discourse, not petty attacks: a response to Paul Krugman
Just because someone doesn’t support an extreme climate policy agenda, like the Inflation Reduction Act, doesn’t mean that they deny climate change is occurring. Science…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: walnut marketing and railroad dispatchers
The number of new final regulations this year topped 2,000, ending the week at 2,007. Economically significant regulations may be a thing of the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby bumpers and AI campaign ads
A wildfire in Hawaii killed more than 100 people. Donald Trump was indicted again. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from magnificent ramshorns to pasteurized…
Blog
How the Inflation Reduction Act takes aim at gas stoves
The American people have reacted very negatively to potential federal regulations targeting natural gas stoves in favor of electric versions. But beyond regulations, there…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: dishwashers and shore leave
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, and GDP grew at a healthy 2.4 percent annualized rate. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
CEI leads coalition opposing crazy regulatory crackdown on dishwashers
The American public remains angry over federal meddling in gas stoves – for good reason, given that not one but two Biden administration regulatory agencies…
Human Progress
Three Cheers for Refrigeration—and Four, Once Everyone Has It
It is difficult to overstate the benefits of refrigeration. Even more than its technological sibling air conditioning, refrigeration has dramatically improved public health and the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: nuclear debt collection and high airports
The FTC lost another major antitrust case, this time its bid to stop the Microsoft-Activision merger. CPI inflation dropped to 3 percent, though…
Blog
What I told the EPA about its illegal de facto electric vehicle mandates
Yesterday I submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032…
Blog
Adam Smith on how trade makes us better people
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to influence…
Blog
European Union says phones and tablets must be easier to break by 2027
The European Parliament agreed on new rules last week that would require smartphone and tablet manufacturers to make it easier for users to remove…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: tart cherry assessments and big cat safety
The House passed two regulatory reform bills, the REINS Act and the Separation of Powers Restoration Act. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Meanwhile,…
Bob Harden
U.S. House Passes Legislation to Preserve Consumer Choice in Kitchen Appliances
We visit with Ben Lieberman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, about the Biden administrations war on gas home appliances. Bob…
Blog
War over gas stoves heats up with two House votes today
President Biden’s administration has declared war on gas stoves, but today the House of Representatives is fighting back Two Biden administration agencies, the Consumer Product…
Blog
Why is the debt ceiling deal helping to ban gas stoves?
When Biden-appointed Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. announced last January that his agency was investigating gas stoves and that a…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby formula labels and room air conditioners
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. The Supreme Court upheld property rights in a 9-0 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, in which CEI joined…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Letting people prosper with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, a report…
Blog
Biden administration wants to make bad clothes washers even worse
The Biden administration started the year by targeting gas stoves and has followed it up with a flood of additional appliance regulations. This…
Comment
Comments of CEI and Michael Mannino on Dept. of Energy’s Conservation Standards for Residential Clothes Washers
I. SUMMARY The proposed rule would tighten the energy and water efficiency standards for residential clothes washers, despite the fact that the standards currently in…
Fox News
Joe Manchin abruptly tanks Biden nominee picked to oversee admin’s crackdown on gas stoves
It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is…
Blog
Robert Lucas, economist of possibilities, 1937-2023
Robert Lucas, 85, passed away this week. He was a prominent macroeconomist who won the 1995 economics Nobel. Others have remembered Lucas’s contributions to rationality…
Blog
New credit card late fee rule hurts folks who pay their bills on time
There has rightly been an outcry after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which sets policy for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie…
Wall Street Journal
Biden Cracks Down on Gas Stoves—and Much More
Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. fired a shot heard ’round America in January when he informed the public of his agency’s plans for natural-gas…
Blog
Screw up the dishwashers, save the planet?
The Department of Energy (DOE) proposed more stringent energy and water efficiency standards for dishwashers Friday, despite the fact that the regulations currently on…
Issues & Insights
Biden Unleashes The Regulatory Kraken — And There’s No Land In Sight
As the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Clyde Wayne Crews put it recently, “President Biden is leading an unprecedented expansion of the administrative state. In two…
Blog
Retirement finance worries increase for Americans
The Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research have published their 33rd Annual Retirement Confidence Survey, and it’s got some interesting results. The survey…
Blog
Americans agree: Politics doesn’t solve most problems
Our friends at the Pew Research Center have some new political survey results out, and the numbers are…not encouraging. The research summary finds:…
Washington Examiner
Effort to limit children’s social media access draws bipartisan support in the Senate
Congressional efforts to regulate the internet to shield minors from harm online is an old story, going back to the internet’s…
National Review
The Crusade against Things That Work Is Coming for Your AC
CEI’s Ben Liberman is cited on National Review about the home appliance debate: In an op-ed for Fox News, the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Smart urbanism with Max Dubler
In the latest episode, we talk about John Berlau and Stone’s Washington’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed on financial regulation and free speech,…
Blog
Texas v. EPA could save the day for cars that go vroom
The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed its reply brief for private petitioners in State of Texas et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.
Blog
Competitive Enterprise Institute Leads Coalition Comment Opposing Department of Energy Stove Regulation
On April 17, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 30 free-market organizations filed a comment with the Department of Energy (DOE) critical of its proposed…
Comment
CEI Comments to Department of Energy on Proposed Stove Regulation
INTRODUCTION The undersigned free market and consumer organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations, which are often…
Fox News
5 ways Biden is still coming for your gas stove
Who knew President Joe Biden hated gas stoves so much? Not only does he have multiple federal agencies targeting them, but he is also going…
Blog
New CEI Paper Outlines Problems with “Right to Repair” Legislation
At least 20 states have filed or refiled “right to repair” legislation since the start of the new year. Two states passed right to…
E&E News
DOE Rule May Block 50% Of Current Gas Stove Models
“This proposed rule comes with a somewhat controversial background regarding another agency. I think it’s still very, very concerning for natural gas stoves,”…
Comment
CEI Comments on the Proposed Regulation on Digital Discrimination of Access
Introduction. On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of…
Real Clear Energy
Joe Biden’s Opposition to Natural Gas Hits Home
There’s no doubt that the Biden Administration is fully on board with the climate activist community’s war on the natural gas industry. From slow walking…
The Dispatch
Of Course Your House Is Killing You
There’s nothing as bad for you as living well. Here’s a nice memory: My wife and I are in Aspen, sitting by a fire that…
Op-Eds
Restrictions on Natural-Gas Stoves Are Climate Policy by Another Name
It has been heartening to see the strong backlash to the recent announcement that the Biden administration’s Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was considering restrictions and…
Blog
New Whole-of-Government Initiative on Junk Fees Comes with Unintended Consequences
Today the Biden administration announced a new whole-of-government initiative on junk fees from airlines and other industries. The news comes on the same day…
The Daily Caller
A Little-Known UN Treaty Is A Raw Deal For America And The Senate Can’t Wait To Pass It
It’s the worst United Nations treaty that you’ve never heard of, and the Senate is on the verge of ratifying it. The Kigali Amendment is bad…
Blog
FTC Hearing on Vaping Case Shows Antitrust at its Worst
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public hearing about a seemingly resolved antitrust case about the vaping market. In 2018,…
Blog
Paternalistic FTC Rule Would Stifle Consumer Choice in Auto Market
As if American drivers didn’t face enough headwinds with high gas prices, supply chain constraints, and state rules that may force them out of…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Opposing Credit Card Competition Act
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, oppose the inaccurately named Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 (S. 4674). The bill is…
News Release
CEI Amicus Brief Supports States Challenging Biden Administration Appliance Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON—The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last week, supporting Louisiana and a group…
Blog
FDA’s Juul Ban Part of Deadly War on Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
News Release
FDA Juul Ban Bad for Public Health: CEI Comment
The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of ordering Juul Labs Inc. to remove its e-cigarettes from the U.S. market, according to a…
Blog
Banning Menthol Cigarettes Will Do Nothing to Promote Racial Justice
Public support for the War on Drugs has never been lower, due in no small part to increased awareness about the devastation drug criminalization…
Blog
Baby Formula and Regulatory Failure
A lot of people are blaming free markets for the baby formula shortage. As the economist Jagdish Bhagwati might say, the problem with this is…
Letters
36 Organizations Sign Coalition Letter Condemning Menthol Prohibition Proposal
We, the undersigned 36 organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the United States, strongly urge you to reject any proposed ban on menthol…
Los Angles Daily News
Menthol Ban a Bad, Harmful Idea
Los Angeles Daily News cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on why e-cigarettes offer smokers a better alternative: “While some smokers might quit in response…
The Washington Times
Researchers Warn Trendy CBD Gummies Can Cause Failed Drug Tests
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on popular consumer gummies and vaporizers: Michelle Minton, a senior fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Treasury Department Report Endorses Deregulation to Boost the Booze Business
It isn’t often that a Democratic administration endorses deregulation, but that is exactly what the Treasury Department does in a new report on promoting…
The Wall Street Journal
A Regulatory Burden for Every Room of Your House
Skyrocketing inflation, empty store shelves, rising crime and endless Covid restrictions have been grabbing headlines, but lesser-noticed regulatory mischief from the Biden administration may prove…
Study
The High Costs of the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act
Concerns about plastics waste in the world’s oceans have raised genuine issues about the impact of plastics on the environment. In response, Sen. Jeff Merkley…
News Release
Biden Energy Department Blocks Faster Dishwashers That Consumers Want
The Biden administration today undid a useful, consumer-friendly reform put in place by Biden’s predecessor, reinstating energy restrictions that make household dishwashers take much longer…
News Release
New Biden Admin Rule Unnecessarily Tells Americans How Much Water They Can Use in the Shower
The Biden Administration today announced a finalized rule restricting the amount of water showerheads with multiple nozzles can use. The final rule reverts back…
Blog
Request to OIRA to Ensure Peer Review of Agency’s Medical Marijuana Claims
For two years, CEI has been trying to get the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to conduct…
News Release
CEI Attacks FDA Salt Guidelines for Failure to Undergo Peer Review, Charges Violation of Federal Information Quality Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today formally requested the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to peer review nutrition guidelines on sodium in…
The Washington Examiner
Biden Declares War on Showerheads
President Joe Biden may lack the authority to reach into your shower and turn the dial down in order to save water. Still,…
Real Clear Policy
Anti-Plastics Campaign Will Harm Consumers — and the Environment
Policymakers continue to miss the boat when it comes to plastics and proactive solutions to combat litter and clean up the environment — even as…
News Release
DC Flavored Tobacco Ban Will Make Life Harder for Marginalized Groups
The Council of the District of Columbia today voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco, including menthol, a policy opposed by CEI and coalition…
The Washington Times
Biden Figures Wage War On Trump’s High-Performance Dishwasher Rule
The Washington Times cites CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman on the Energy Department’s new high-performance dishwasher rule. Pushing back against the legal challenges was…
News Release
Energy Department Reforms #Neverneeded Regulations on Consumer Washers, Dryers, Showerheads
Today the U.S. Department of Energy issued a set of two new rules that, respectively, allow the sale of faster clothes washers and dryers…
Blog
Americans have Grown more Centrist, So Should the Parties
This last election was not normal. Record voter turnout, different voting procedures, and polarizing candidates makes comparing this cycle to any other difficult. But looking…
Inside Sources
Drugs (Except Nicotine) Win on Election Day
Americans sent a clear message on Election Day that it is time to end the war on drugs. Every ballot measure to decriminalize or legalize…
Blog
Democrats More at Risk for Anti-E-Cigarette Stance
Millions of adult vapers across the country could determine the outcome of the election in battleground states. According to Gallup, about 8 percent of…
Wall Street Journal
A Rule for Cleaner Dishes
Wall Street Journal cites CEI’s General Counsel Sam Kazman on U.S. Department of Energy final rule on dishwashers. If a camel is a horse designed by…
Washington Examiner
Trump administration finalizes rule to create new class of dishwashers that wash and dry in an hour
Washington Examiner cites Competitive Enterprise Institute on U.S. Department of Energy’s final rule on dishwashers. The Energy Department acted in response to a petition filed…
News Release
Banning Common Refrigerant Would Impose Huge Costs on American Consumers and Businesses
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined by 19 free market groups, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposing an amendment to the…
Blog
New Junk Food Ordinance: Another “Feel Good” California Law that Does No Good
California is a tough place to live. Ranked as the state with the nation’s worst quality of life, Californians have the biggest debt-to-income ratio, suffer…
Blog
Government Is Asking if We Want Faster and More Effective Appliances. Say Yes!
For more than 50 years, Americans have used washing machines to clean their clothes and dryers to dry them. Manufacturers built highly effective products that…
Inside Sources
Consumer Choice Is Not Elitist
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, thinks it’s fine that your new dishwasher takes more than 2 hours to complete a cycle — we think consumers…
The Hill
Legalized sports betting is paying off
A year ago, New Jersey’s fight to overturn the failed federal ban on sports betting was vindicated by the Supreme Court, with the justices deeming…
Fox Business
Payday loan regulations rollback is win for business, consumers
Chalk up another win for President Trump’s deregulatory agenda – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week announced a plan to reconsider an Obama-era regulation…
Fox Business
Conservatives should resist the urge to regulate Big Tech
Nearly every day there seems to be another story that demonstrates that Big Tech is biased against conservatives. Recently, we saw the “lifetime” ban of conservative…