CEI Daily Update

Issues in the News

1.  Congress

The Senate passes an energy bill, including efficiency, alternative fuel and anti-price gouging sections.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on the case against gouging:

Price gouging is generally defined as a vendor using unusual market conditions to exploit demand and extort unreasonably higher payments from his customers. Yet, outside the black market, price gouging is unlikely to exist in practice.

2. Labor

Congress considers a measure to change union organizing rules.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Editorial Director Ivan Osorio on union recruiting and intimidation:

Union organizers never, ever intimidate workers whom they are trying to recruit. Believe me? Great! I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Sound crass? Well, Big Labor and their allies in Congress are trying to sell America just such a proverbial bridge — the deceivingly named Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S.1041), on which the Senate will soon vote.

3.  Trade

World Trade Organization negotiations break down.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith on what comes next:

With Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) expiring at the end of June (which gives the Bush administration the ability to negotiate trade agreements with an up-or-down vote by Congress), some had thought that progress at this meeting might spur support for renewing TPA. With the failure of these talks, trade negotiators will be continuing Doha discussions in Geneva. However, if Brazil and India do represent the views of many developing countries, the outlook isn’t promising.

Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.

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