The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. CONGRESS
NPR looks into what the new Democratic-controlled Congress plans to do about global warming.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the what Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer are planning:
“Hot air is often associated with politicians, but the new 110th Congress will try elevating that unflattering characterization to the status of a tradable commodity in hopes of stemming the perceived problem of man-made global warming. New Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., support Kyoto Protocol-like plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to trade permits to emit greenhouse gases – a.k.a ‘cap-and-trade.’”
2. TECHNOLOGY
Time magazine slims down its print operations in reaction to Internet competition.
CEI Experts Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Jeremy Lott on Time’s latest editorial foray into the wired world:
“It’s worth noting that the selection [of Person of the Year] was really the opposite of a democratically informed decision. A lot of people put in great efforts to vote for their choices, and what did the staff of Time do? Did they cede some of their coveted big media gatekeeper status and acknowledge the wisdom of the little guy? No. They decided to toss those results and do something completely different: a trend story about the social effects of better, cheaper technology.”
3. BUSINESS
European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso meets with President Bush to discuss transatlantic trade.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Risk & Environmental Policy Angela Logomasini on new European regulations which could impact U.S. businesses:
“The program, known as REACH—for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals—would require companies to submit data to register more than 30,000 chemicals with EU regulators, the vast majority of which are already on the market. Some chemicals would also have to undergo additional study and regulatory processes, which can lead to bans and other restrictions.”