Comment
CEI Comments on DOE’s Proposed Appliance Standards Process Rule
I. Introduction The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a policy and analysis organization committed to advancing the principles of free markets and limited…
Blog
Federal court strikes down another bad appliance regulation – this time for stoves
Last June, the Supreme Court vacated a lower court decision upholding a bad Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulation targeting residential furnaces and sent…
Study
Permitting Reform for a Freer and More Prosperous Nation
Contents Special Advisors The Importance of Permitting Reform Part 1: 11 Principles for Permitting Reform Part 2: Statute-by-Statute Analysis for Permitting…
Washington Examiner
Upward pressure on gas prices isn’t just Iran, but a mandate closer to home
CEI’s Ben Lieberman was cited by the Washington Examiner relating to renewable fuel standards. Critics have compared the program to Calvinball, the…
Blog
Can Trump proposed rule pull the plug on bad appliance regulations?
Many Americans dislike federal home appliance regulations, perhaps nobody more so than the current White House occupant, who routinely rails against them at his…
News Release
Energy Department seeks to stop bad appliance regulations
The Energy Department today proposed a rule that sets limits on any future appliance regulations. CEI Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman praised this…
Blog
Europe’s heat wave tragically demonstrates the need for air conditioning
Western European nations take a very different approach from the United States on many issues — immigration, defense, welfare, energy, health care, and more.
Blog
Freedom of furnaces: One more reason to celebrate America’s 250th
Freedom of furnaces may not be on the minds of most Americans as we gear up for the nation’s 250th Anniversary, but thanks to…
Fox News
Either ignore climate change lunacy or high energy prices will make you wish you had
Congressional Republicans spent four years opposing the Biden administration’s energy policies, asserting that they raised prices from the gas pump to our utility bills.
Blog
A federal gas tax holiday won’t do much to ease the pain at the pump
The best policy ideas for making gasoline more affordable – faster permitting for domestic drilling and pipeline construction alongside fewer regulations targeting refineries or…
Blog
Affordable manufactured housing versus unaffordable climate regulations
The Biden administration had a field day piling on one costly climate-related regulation after another, not knowing – or caring – that affordability would…
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…
Blog
Fly the (climate) friendly skies? Delta is having second thoughts
Delta Air Lines has quietly backed away from its pledge to use 10 percent sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) by 2030, citing the…
Blog
Executive order embraces limited government approach to housing affordability
A March 13 Trump executive order, “Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction,” offers a number of good ideas for addressing high housing…
Human Progress
Olive Oil Prices Are Falling—So Should Olive Oil Climate Hysteria
Summary: Olive oil prices spiked in 2023 amid heat and drought in Spain, prompting widespread claims that climate change was driving the industry into…
Blog
Washington should resist the urge to overreact to high gas prices
Unfortunately, there has been a sharp increase in domestic gas prices since the conflict with Iran started.According to the Energy Information Administration, the…
National Review
House Passes Bill Pushing Back on Federal Appliance Meddling
They’re the regulations that literally hit home, and rarely in a good way. The Department of Energy sets energy efficiency standards for…
Blog
House to consider two bills that would place limits on federal appliance meddling
It is time for Congress to place limits on costly and intrusive federal meddling in home appliances. Two House bills coming up for a…
Blog
EPA repeals another costly rule targeting affordable and reliable coal
Though not nearly as far-reaching as the recently announced end to the Endangerment Finding, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) February 20 final rule…
Blog
Greener housing is costlier housing
There are many policy ideas for addressing rising housing costs, ranging from good ones like tax code changes that bring more homes onto…
Fox News
Trump successfully turns off crazy Biden era regulations on your home appliances
President Donald Trump has sharply diverged from his predecessor on nearly every issue, perhaps most of all concerning federal home appliance regulations. The Biden…
Citation
4 things to watch at DOE in 2026
Blog
CEI study says it’s time to unplug federal appliance regulations
Stoves, air conditioners, ceiling fans, water heaters, light fixtures, refrigerators, washing machines, furnaces, dishwashers, and more – nearly everything that plugs in or fires…
Study
Free the Appliances!
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…
Comment
How EPA’s Regional Haze Overreach Undermines State Authority and Ignores Emissions Progress
I. Introduction The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a policy and research organization dedicated to advancing the principles of free markets and limited…
Comment
Coalition Comment on EPA’s Proposed HFC Technology Transitions Reconsideration Rule
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…
Blog
A bad court decision on furnace regulations strengthens the case for a legislative fix
On November 4, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a decision that is bad news for millions…
Blog
Stop artificially increasing demand for rare earths
Trade wars with China over rare earth minerals have sparked a number of policy responses, ranging from good ideas like streamlining the permitting…
Blog
The war on gas stoves is not over – but the Trump administration is fighting back
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it is rescinding federal grants for changes to state and local building codes that would discourage…
Blog
EPA proposed rule cools down costly air conditioner regulation
The Biden administration inflicted many bad appliance regulations on homeowners, but the costliest of them all was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule…
News Release
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…
Testimony
CEI’s Ben Lieberman testifies on Reforming Appliance Efficiency Standards: Restoring Consumer Choice and Ending Regulatory Overreach
I. Summary The Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards program is decades old, and most major home appliances have been subjected to multiple rounds of…
Wall Street Journal
How to Beat the High Cost of Cooling
President Trump doesn’t hide his dislike of federal appliance regulations, from water-stingy shower heads that he says make it difficult “to take care of…
WSJ Opinion
How to Beat the High Cost of Cooling
President Trump doesn’t hide his dislike of federal appliance regulations, from water-stingy shower heads that he says make it difficult “to take care of…
Blog
EPA right to propose repeal of 2024 power plant mercury rule
The Obama EPA’s 2012 rule for mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants may have been the agency’s least defensible measure ever under the Clean…
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.
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…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Environmental Protection Agency Rule Repealing 2024 Mercury Provisions for Coal-Fired Power Plants
August 11, 2025 Environmental Protection Agency: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units…
Blog
Latest rescissions bill finally kills spending on 1987 Montreal Protocol
The most recent congressional rescissions package will block $9 billion in spending, including funds for United Nations (UN) environmental treaties such as the…
Letters
CEI letter to EPA regarding Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act
Dear Administrator Zeldin: The Competitive Enterprise Institute applauds the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including those…
Comment
In Defense of Consumer Choice: CEI Supports DOE’s Withdrawal of Overreaching Regulation on Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products
Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program: Proposed Withdrawal of Determination of Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products as a Covered Consumer Product Notice of Proposed Withdrawal…
Blog
Are we losing the subsidized clean energy race to China? Let’s hope so
Do we need to retain the Green New Deal-style subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act or risk losing the clean energy race to China?…
Fox News
Trump’s Energy Department is taking back our home appliances from berserk bureaucrats
In quite possibly the sharpest regulatory U-turn thus far in 2025, the Trump Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to roll back home appliance…
Blog
Senate should reject lobbyist sales pitches for alternative energy subsidies
Lobbyists for the companies hoping to cash in on the many alternative energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are crying foul…
Citation
Impact Of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – ‘Clean Energy Ghost Towns’
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…
Comment
CEI Comments to Department of Justice Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force
Dear Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force Members: We appreciate this opportunity to provide comments to the task force regarding anticompetitive laws and regulations.
Testimony
Testimony of Ben Lieberman: Mandates, Meddling, and Mismanagement: The IRA’s Threat to Energy and Medicine
Summary The costs to the American people of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Green New Deal-style climate change provisions are proving to be far higher…
News Release
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 (…
Washington Free Beacon
Free the Gas Stoves: Trump’s Energy Department Axes Dozens of Biden Appliance, Energy Regulations
Washington Free Beacon cited CEI’s expert on appliance energy regulations “This is very good news for consumer freedom,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow…
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Lee Introduces Bill to End Biden Era Lightbulb Ban
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee cited CEI’s expert on Bill to end Lightbulb Ban “This bill is very good news for…
Blog
House Republican letter urges an end to all IRA handouts via the reconciliation bill
Congressional Republicans were unanimous in their opposition to the Green New Deal when it was introduced in 2019, and for very good reason given…
Blog
Trump is right to target showerheads, but he’ll need Congress to finish the job
President Trump is taking another pro-consumer step, this time on showerheads. His April 9th executive order, Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads, reinstates…
News Release
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…
Blog
Senate should support S.J.Res.4 repealing Biden’s anti-consumer water heater regulation
The Biden administration gave us far too many anti-consumer appliance regulations, and some of the worst were ones supported by manufacturers angling to create…
Daily Caller
GOP-Led Congress Deals Fatal Blow To Biden’s War On Refrigerators
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on energy conservation standards DOE officials said they wanted to impose newer energy conservation standards. The…
Fox News
Biden’s leftover regulations will decide your next light bulb unless Trump stops them
Americans have shown a real dislike for the wave of federal regulations targeting home appliances. Even more infuriating is the fact that…
News Release
Congress passes resolution repealing Biden energy rule against freezers, walk-in coolers: CEI statement
Congress successfully passed a resolution repealing a Biden Energy Department rule that would have imposed needless restrictions on walk-in coolers and freezers. CEI energy…
Blog
Trump cancels Biden’s heat pump crisis
It isn’t easy figuring out the single most ridiculous Biden administration climate policy, but its declaration that electric heat pumps are critical to…
City Journal
Home Appliance Regulations Are Out of Control
President Trump hates federal home appliance regulations as much as President Biden loved them. And now Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has taken the…
News Release
Trump’s speech to Congress spotlights deregulatory efforts: CEI analysis
On Tuesday evening, President Trump delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress where he highlighted his administration’s deregulatory efforts across the federal…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter to Congress on Tankless Water Heaters
Dear 119th Congress: The Biden administration gave us many bad appliance regulations, but worst of all may have been its last-minute crackdown on…
Blog
Congressional Review Act can cancel three bad appliance regs
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is the easiest way for Congress to block some of the bad regulations enacted under the Biden administration. A…
Blog
Trump sketches out a battle plan on housing affordability
Housing affordability has become a front burner issue, and President Trump spared no time setting out his plan targeting the government regulations and red…
Op-Eds
Affordable Housing – How Donald Trump Could Accomplish More Than Jimmy Carter
The passing of Jimmy Carter sparked much praise for his post-presidency good deeds, particularly his decades of volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity building…
Products
Free to Prosper: Energy and environment
Blog
Another last-minute Biden appliance regulation – this time tankless water heaters
At this point, it is easier to name the major home appliances that have not been hit with bad regulations from the Biden administration…
Fox News
Six household appliances that have taken heat from Biden’s crackdown on regulations
Fox News cited CEI’s expert on product quality “What these mandates – what these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency…
Blog
CEI submits comments on latest Biden administration dishwasher proposal
The Biden administration’s efforts targeting gas stoves received a lot of attention in 2023 and sparked an angry public backlash, but many other…
Comment
Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Dishwashers. Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute I. SUMMARY The Notification of Proposed Confirmation of Withdrawal and Request for Comment (proposal) seeks…
Blog
No more taxpayer dollars for environmental treaties until UN ends China’s developing country status
Most environmental treaties are a bad deal for the American people, and some are made worse by the fact that the United Nations (UN)…
Fox News
Biden-Harris still hate your gas stove, you won’t believe how much
The Biden-Harris administration insists that gas stoves are not being targeted. Don’t believe a word of it. This kitchen controversy…
The Daily Caller
‘High-Value Target’: Biden-Harris Green Tax Credit Prone To Fraud, Abuse, Gov’t Watchdog Finds
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on energy tax credits “It is clear that the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act primarily benefit…
Comment
CEI Comments on Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers
Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigerators, Freezers, and Refrigerator-Freezers; Notification of Data Availability and Request for Comment…
Fox News
5 insane Biden-Harris appliance regulations heading your way
It took an angry public reaction against proposed federal restrictions on gas stoves to get the Biden-Harris administration regulators to reconsider. But…
Human Progress
Appliances Contribute to Human Progress—but Regulations Threaten Their Affordability
Summary: Home appliances have drastically improved human life, from preventing heat-related deaths with air conditioning to making household tasks more efficient with washing machines…
Blog
Regulatory relief, not subsidies, can make housing more affordable
Housing affordability has become a major issue – and for good reason given skyrocketing home prices and high mortgage rates coming at a time…
Blog
Junk science behind federal appliance regs about to get junkier
The Biden-Harris administration has embarked on a wave of anti-consumer home appliance regulations over the last several years. Each was justified in part by…
Fox News
Energy groups pan Biden-Harris $7.3B ‘clean energy’ spending ahead of battleground visit
Fox News cited CEI’s experts on environmental policy “Rather than forcing on rural Americans’ energy sources they don’t want, the administration…
The Daily Caller
Higher-Income Americans Have Been Cashing In On Green Home Subsidies Under Biden
The Daily Caller cites CEI’s expert on the Inflation Reduction Act “It is clear that the tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act…
Blog
Energy freedom on the ballot in Washington State
Climate change policies tend to become unpopular as soon as the public realizes the effects such policies will have on them. That certainly is…
The Washington Examiner
Inflation has spread to your air conditioner, and federal regulations are the cause
Fourth of July kicks off the hottest two-month stretch of the year in the United States, and for much of the nation,…
The Washington Times
Biden is coming after your light bulbs — again
The Washington Times cited CEI’s experts on energy regulation “That’s the problem with these agencies. They make their living cranking out more and…
Blog
Three cheers for House efforts to defund climate-related foreign aid
House Republicans should be applauded for introducing an FY 2025 State Department appropriations bill that blocks climate change-related foreign aid. Specifically, the…
Blog
21 cents worth of stupid in the Department of Energy’s latest stove proposal
The good news is that the Biden Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest proposed efficiency regulation for residential stoves is considerably less damaging to…
Comment
CEI Comment on Department of Energy Proposed Stove Efficiency Regulation
Docket Number EERE-2014-ST-STD-000589 FR 11,548 and 89 FR 11,434 I. Summary The Department of Energy (DOE) is permitted to set energy efficiency standards…
Blog
Fewer Memorial Day gimmicks, more oil production will bring down gasoline prices
The Biden administration treats high gasoline prices as a public relations problem rather than a real hardship for millions of Americans, hence the gimmicky…
News Release
Senate poised to vote on resolution that would end Department of Energy’s radical furnace rule
Today, the Senate is set to vote on a resolution that would overturn the Department of Energy’s radical furnace rule, preventing price increases and…
Daily Caller
Biden’s Regulatory Blitz On Appliances Figures To Make Life More Expensive, Policy Experts Say
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited in Daily Caller on Biden’s blitz on appliance figures: “If these ultra-efficient appliances make sense, homeowners would…
Blog
Time to end China’s “developing nation” dodge on climate treaties
China’s newly-appointed Special Envoy for Climate Change, Liu Zhenmin, will soon meet for the first time with his American counterpart, John Podesta. One…
Wall Street Journal
Biden Is Coming for Your Air Conditioner
Your next new home air conditioner could set you back $12,000 or more, with federal regulators contributing to the rising cost of staying cool.
Blog
House bill fights appliance regulatory overreach
The American people face a wave of new federal appliance regulations, and all of them are bad. But this week, the House of Representatives…
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)…
Deseret
The Biden admin wants to change home appliances, Republicans are pushing back
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited on Deseret News about republican pushback to home appliance regulation: Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
RJ Smith (1937-2024)
Freedom has lost a true champion with the passing of longtime CEI analyst RJ Smith. RJ’s tireless advocacy for private property rights will be…
Blog
The Biden administration once again puts its climate agenda above home affordability
The Biden administration talks a good game about making housing more affordable, but in truth it is actively boosting costs through expensive climate…
Blog
Two cheers for the gas stove protections in FY 2024 spending bill
There is a provision in the recently-passed appropriations bill prohibiting any federal funds from being used by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)…
The Hill
The right way to neutralize China’s unfair economic advantage on climate
There’s a big push in Congress to eliminate any competitive edge handed to China as a result of domestic and international climate change policies.
Daily Caller
Fresh Report Explains How International Climate Treaties Benefit China At America’s Expense
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited in Daily Caller on the Kigali Amendment: “China’s status as a developing nation in U.N. treaties has created…
News Release
China’s Beneficial Status as Developing Nation in UN Treaties Disadvantages US, Must End
China is now the world’s second largest economy and the largest exporter, yet it is designated as a developing nation in United Nations (UN)…
Study
Forcing the UN’s Hand on China
Most United Nations (UN) environmental treaties are a bad deal for America that are made worse by classifying China as a developing nation and…
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…