Blog
Has Gary Gensler turned the SEC into a regulatory ‘Hotel California’?
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler hadn’t testified before the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 months. Republican members made up for lost…
AEIdeas
“Biden’s Antitrust Team Is Tossing Aside Rule of Law”
Mark Jamison from the American Enterprise Institute argues that the FTC’s assistance to the European Union to implement the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a…
News Release
US Economy Grew 1.1 Percent First Quarter 2023 – Could Be Worse: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy grew 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Bureau of Economic Statistics. It may seem underwhelming, but…
News Release
Senate Bill Upends Parental Right to Decide on Social Media Permissions for Children
New legislation put forward by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today would establish a…
Blog
The week in ridiculous regulations: otter casualties and moving the goalpost
Fox News settled its defamation case over its false reporting on the 2020 election with voting machine maker Dominion. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…
National Review
U.K. Laws Are Harming American Companies — U.S. Authorities Pleased
America has made it almost 250 years independent of its colonial master, Great Britain. Now, in one area at least, you might as well tear…
News Release
UK Competition and Markets Authority Anti-Merger Ruling Undermines Consumer Interests
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is blocking Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard out of fear the deal…
Real Clear Markets
“Day of Reckoning Looms for Lina Khan’s FTC”
Geoffrey Manne and Gus Hurwitz from the International Center for Law & Economics discuss how the recent Supreme Court decision in Axon Enterprise v. FTC…
The Dispatch
“How the FTC Is Undermining U.S. Interests in Europe”
Klon Kitchen from the American Enterprise Institute explains how the FTC’s coordination with EU antitrust regulators will hurt the U.S. tech sector’s importance to American…
National Review
The Free-Market Case Needs More Than Just Morality
George Leef and Mike Munger are right (of course) that we need to make the moral case for capitalism. Yet I would…
Reason
Despite SCOTUS Ruling Limiting Its Authority, EPA Tries To Unilaterally Regulate Carbon Emissions Again
CEI’s Daren Bakst and Wayne Crews are cited in Reason about the EPA trying to regulate carbon emissions despite SCOTUS rule: “Biden’s new move…
News Release
Court Ruling for Apple in Antitrust Case Underscores Marketplace is Succeeding
Today a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld a lower court finding that Apple App Store policies do not violate federal antitrust law. CEI…
“Congress Shouldn’t Reward a Rogue Agency”
Dr. Edward Longe from the James Madison Institute argues against increasing the FTC’s budget for 2024 fiscal year.
Blog
Regulatory reform in the 118th Congress: Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 was an important transparency measure for vetting new regulations. But it falls short in some important areas,…
Real Clear Markets
“FTC Overreach: The Bully on the Playground of Prosperity”
Charles Sauer, president of the Market Institute, explains how the FTC’s anti-business stance has forced companies to focus on defense instead of innovation and growth.
Forbes
Congress Must Mobilize To Halt Biden’s Radical Administrative State Transformation
[T]he genius of the Progressives in the late 19th century was to preempt or push large sectors of the emerging future (the environment,…
Duluth News Tribune
Pro/Con: Proposed ‘Right to Repair’ Electronics Law Would Break a System that Doesn’t Need Fixing
Some state lawmakers want to regulate the repairs of countless consumer gadgets and equipment, from smartphones and microwave ovens to farm tractors and medical devices.
News Release
Biden EO on ‘Environmental Justice’ Poses Threat to all Americans
The Biden administration today announced a new executive order purporting to “further embed environmental justice into the work of federal agencies.” CEI regulatory and…
Blog
Romney slams Labor nominee Su’s ‘so severely lacking’ record
Julie Su, the White House’s pick to replace outgoing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, had her first of two Senate hearings Thursday. Sen. Mitt Romney…
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
Congress shouldn’t party like it’s 2019 on national debt
Now comes the GOP’s turn to do its own version of a “lockdown.” Republicans should heed the advice of a member of the other party, Rahm…
Real Clear Markets
“Beware of Unpaid Consultants in Federal Agencies”
Paul Steidler, Senior Fellow at the Lexington Institute, points to growing concerns surrounding the use of unpaid consultants at the Federal Trade Commission.
Wall Street Journal
“The FTC Is Working With the EU to Hamstring U.S. Companies”
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board discusses FTC coordination with EU antitrust regulators in light of Chair Lina Khan’s recent testimony before the House Energy…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 17: Political Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
In this week’s episode we talk about Michael Strain’s and Dominic Pino’s recent arguments for economic optimism, Jessica Melugin’s defense of…
News Release
House Republicans Helpfully Tie Government Reforms to Debit Limit Deal
House Republican leadership yesterday released the text of their debt limit deal which trades a suspension or increase in the debt limit for a number…
National Review
Covid Emergency’s Over, Biden Declares, but Many Emergency Declarations Remain
Seven months ago, President Biden told a 60 Minutes interviewer that “the pandemic is over.” That didn’t stop his administration from repeatedly extending emergency declarations and measures and…
Blog
Freelancers Find Little Sympathy from Left In Fight over Worker ‘Misclassification’
Kim Kavin is a freelance writer and an activist in the current political fight over the issue of worker classification. As co-founder of the activist…
Blog
The Supreme Court’s Axon decision shatters the in-house advantage of administrative law courts
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant ruling that upended the adjudicatory monopoly enjoyed by administrative law courts (ALCs). In Axon…
Blog
Don’t Cede Fairness to the Left
CEI’s Founder, Fred Smith, rightly understood that people will only listen to us if we communicate at the level of their values. And one value we know…
Wall Street Journal
CFPB Tries to Censor Speech on Chicago Crime
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal bureaucracy with a vast jurisdiction, is testing a novel approach to crime and punishment. In a lawsuit against…
The Hill
“Why Is the FTC Blocking Free Market Health Care Solutions?”
Former U.S. Representative from Colorado Bob Beauprez discusses the FTC’s crusade against mergers, particularly beneficial hospital mergers that could reduce costs for consumers.
National Review
No, Lockdown States Did Not Do Better
Many politicians, public-health figures, and media pundits continue to insist that the Covid lockdowns were a success and represent a blueprint for future pandemic responses. Illinois…
Fox Business
AI tools such as ChatGPT are the hottest new trend for companies, but experts urge caution
Fox Business cites Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Jessica Melugin on AI tools: According to Jessica Melugin, director…
Comment
CEI Comments on Non-Compete Clause Rule
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit comments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed ban of non-compete agreements in employment…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing New Broadband Middle Mile Funding
Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the undersigned organizations, we write in opposition to any legislation that…
Blog
Data Alone Can’t Make the Case for Abundance
As public policy researchers, it’s absolutely necessary that our recommendations rely on strong, sound data. In our advocacy, though, that’s not sufficient. As I explain in…
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…
City Journal
“Under Lina Khan’s Leadership, the Federal Trade Commission Is Openly Subverting All Three Branches of Government”
Corbin Barthold, internet policy counsel at TechFreedom, explains how the FTC’s independence as an agency may be increasing its politicization.
Reason
“Don’t Give the Federal Trade Commission a Big Budget Just to Punish Big Firms”
Isaac Schick from the American Consumer Institute warns against granting the FTC its increased budget request.
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…
Blog
Biden Executive Order Harms Transparency
The Biden administration recently issued an Executive Order making major changes to the regulatory system, although almost nobody noticed thanks to culture war drama…
Fox News
Biden admin receives backlash from nearly two dozen groups for move cracking down on gas stoves
Fox News cites CEI’s comments to the DOE on gas stoves: Led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the groups …
Discourse
Making the Case for Abundance
Few things are more important than ensuring that people have plenty of the critical goods they need to pursue happiness, including jobs, energy, housing and education.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Headline CPI inflation went down slightly, but a deeper look shows that things got slightly worse. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from low-fat…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling Ensures People Can Challenge Agency Authority in Court
The Supreme Court ruled today that regulatory agency tribunals do not have any special expertise in deciding constitutional law questions; therefore, district courts can hear…
Blog
Skepticism about EPA’s PM2.5 Rule Is Healthy
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed to tighten the annual national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter. My colleague Daren Bakst…
The Washington Times
Don’t Cede Fairness to Liberals
Most people care about fairness. Humans are, after all, moral creatures. And yet it’s mostly the political left that speaks of “fairness.” That’s unfortunate, because…
Bloomberg Law
California Follows Europe’s Lead on USB-C Mandate for Devices
Bloomberg Law cites Research Fellow Alex Reinauer on the USB-C mandate. The environmental arguments for the bill are mostly symbolic because…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 16: Tar Heel Activism with Brooke Medina
This week we talk about political pessimism in popular polling, the return of the Malthusian environmentalists, the problem with Buy American…
Blog
Free Enterprise Scholarship in Alabama
Some fans of economic freedom have been worried in recent years that anti-capitalism is rife on U.S. college and university campuses, from Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Too Clever by Half – EPA’s De-Facto Electric Vehicle Mandate
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced new, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. The standards would increase in…
Blog
Making the Perfect the Enemy of the Good: Everything-Bagel Public Policy
Thanks to Caleb Watney of the Institute for Progress for recommending the great New York Times column by Ezra Klein about the red…
Blog
Blue State Bailouts on the Horizon?
Whenever we see risky and poorly thought-out ventures in the business world, the negative consequences of those ideas will usually be limited to the shareholders…
Blog
Regulatory Reform in the 118th Congress: Separation of Powers Restoration Act
The separation of powers is a key aspect of American government. To decentralize power and ensure checks and balances, the Founders divided the federal government…
Real Clear Policy
The Greatest Trick ‘the Swamp’ Ever Pulled
Why are anti-establishment Republicans embracing the special interest racket of Washington, D.C.? In 2016, candidate Donald J. Trump ran on a promise to drain ‘the…
News Release
CPI Slowed in March, More Tightening Necessary to Get Inflation Under Control
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index Summary today, showing CPI increased by 0.1 percent in March 2023. CEI Senior Economist…
Fox News
Biden unveils toughest-ever car emissions rules in bid to force electric vehicle purchases
Fox News cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on electric vehicles: “The Biden administration is trying…
News Release
Biden Administration Seeks to Severely Limit the Types of Cars Americans Can Buy
The Biden Administration announced it would propose a new rule aimed at restricting the amount of gas-powered cars and coercing consumers to buy electric vehicles…
News Release
Jeremy Lott Returns to CEI as Managing Editor
National Review
“The FTC Is Making a Mistake by Trying to Stop Microsoft from Acquiring Activision”
Tahmineh Dehbozorgi, Innovation Fellow with Young Voices, argues that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision will increase competition in gaming, not lessen it.
City Journal
Roll It Back
Medicaid, the federal-state entitlement for the poor, now provides health insurance to more than one in four Americans. Enrollments surged after the Affordable Care Act…
News Release
Ideologically Driven Attack on Tech Mergers and Acquisitions Threatens Innovations for Consumers and U.S. Position as Global Tech Leader
In a new Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) study, technology policy expert Jessica Melugin writes that concern about “killer acquisitions” – a market leader purchasing…
Study
M&As Are A-Okay
Fretting about “killer acquisitions” and “kill zones” is common among regulators in Washington these days, but entrepreneurs and investors at work in the tech industry…
News Release
Senators Should Oppose Biden Nominee Julie Su for Labor Secretary
Earlier this year, President Biden nominated Julie Su to serve as Secretary of Labor. Given Su’s track record as an aggressive enforcer and inept manager…
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Seriously bad bill
I admit it: I’m an Arkansas General Assembly junkie. Even though I haven’t been a state legislator for more than a decade, I still watch…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
An Executive Order from the Biden administration made some of the biggest system-level regulatory changes in years. It raises the threshold for “economically significant”…
News Release
Biden’s ‘Modernizing Regulatory Review’ Executive Order Will Undermine Review
President Biden yesterday issued an “Executive Order on Modernizing Regulatory Review,” by which “modernizing” apparently means undermining transparency and disclosure and pushing a radical…
Blog
FedNow Isn’t a CBDC, But Still Contains Many Dangers
Over the past few days, “FedNow” has been trending on Twitter in tweets that contain healthy doses of curiosity and skepticism, well-founded concerns about privacy…
News Release
Biden Veto of Bipartisan Congressional Resolution to Withdraw WOTUS Rule Highlights Administration’s Environmental Extremism
President Joe Biden vetoed a bipartisan resolution passed by Congress under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would have rescinded EPA and the U.S.
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 15: Eco-Modernism and Abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode of the Free the Economy podcast, we talk about the likelihood of blue state bailouts, issues with “…
Letters
Coalition Letter Re: Opposition to Enhanced Deposit Insurance
Dear Members of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations, and individuals, oppose any legislative or regulatory action that would increase the deposit insurance cap or fully…
News Release
236,000 Jobs Added in March 2023
The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggesting good and bad future trends, say CEI…
Blog
Secondhand Antitrust: FTC Continues to Bully Industries that Can Save Lives
Altria Group, the largest tobacco company in the U.S., divested its 35 percent stake in the e-cigarette maker Juul Labs early last month. The Federal…
Blog
Debt Limit: When You Run Out of Other People’s Money, Keep Spending Anyway
Spending and deficit control are indispensable to a the long-term economic health and stability of a nation. But today, fiscal restraint is visible only in…
Blog
The EPA’s Premature Proposal on Particulate Matter: Highlights from CEI’s Comment to the EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is jumping the gun by reconsidering the existing particulate matter (PM) air quality standards.Under the Clean Air Act, the…
Letters
Coalition Letter Supporting H.R. 2700, the “Employee Rights Act”
Fortune
Former FTC Chair Muris: “We can’t ignore the last 40 years of antitrust based on protecting consumers'”
Timothy J. Muris, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, discusses the historical relevance of the consumer welfare standard in light of the anticipated release…
Reason
Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Labor wants ‘wage theft’ cops
Wall Street Journal
“The FTC’s Unholy Antitrust Grail”
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board covers the FTC’s overruling of its administrative law judge in the Illumina/Grail case.
Forbes
Regulatory Reform’s Role In Addressing The Debt Limit
Spring is here, the first quarter is over, and the federal debt limit is back in play. Again. The cap was last …
Forbes
Regulatory Reform’s Role In Addressing The Debt Limit
Spring is here, the first quarter is over, and the federal debt limit is back in play. Again. The cap was last …
News Release
FTC Antitrust Overreach Threatens Health of Americans at Risk of Cancer Diagnosis
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today ordered Illumina to unwind its acquisition of Grail, a $7 billion deal that would add an early cancer…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter in Support of Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA)
The undersigned organizations support strong anti-SLAPP laws protecting free speech and commend Texas for having one of the best in the nation. We are concerned…
The Hill
“Why Christine Wilson’s Resignation from the FTC Matters”
Mark Jamison from the American Enterprise Institute explains how Christine Wilson’s resignation from the FTC highlights more fundamental problems at the agency.
Blog
In Chicago’s Mayoral Runoff, It’s a Question of Which Union Wins
In Chicago’s upcoming mayoral race, the question is not whether organized labor will win, but rather which public sector union walks away with bragging rights.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Finland, which borders Russia, is joining NATO. Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Finance Facts Trump Biden’s Blame Game on Banking Woes
Donald Trump dominated the news in more ways than one yesterday, as Biden officials attempted to place the Trump administration at the center of recent…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 14: Conservative Economics with Dominic Pino
This week we talk corporate mega-mergers that turned out for the best, political meddling with the Federal Reserve’s inflation policy, “woke” language…
Washington Examiner
Sen. Mike Braun cuts path to slow Biden’s ‘noxious’ agenda
It drew applause from deregulation advocates. “Sen. Braun’s efforts to strike Biden’s regulatory excesses are vital,” said Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.
Blog
Large Language Models are Great Tools but Lousy Researchers
Climate skeptic Newtuber Tony Heller asked ChatGPT some questions about the climate and found it lacking. It gave the sort of answers you would…
News Release
House Passes Energy Bill that Will Increase Domestic Energy Production and Lower Costs for Consumers
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 today, an extensive package of energy policies aimed at increasing domestic energy production, easing permitting delays for…
News Release
Bipartisan Majority of U.S. Senate Rejects Biden Administration Overreach on Waters of the US Rule
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act rejecting the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The rule would…
Blog
Eight Groups Support Supreme Court Consideration of Moore v. United States
The Moores’ Supreme Court challenge to an unprecedented tax—a tax which the government labels a income tax, but is actually a property tax—received a…
Blog
Amendments to H.R. 1: The Very Good, the Good, and the Ugly
The House of Representatives is currently debating H.R. 1, the “Lower Energy Costs Act.” As the House works its way through the bill,…
Blog
Michigan’s Right To Work Repeal Is a Repeal of Individual Rights
If right to work laws are so bad than why do their critics have such a hard time talking about what precisely the laws do? …
News Release
RESTRICT Act Threatens Americans’ First Amendment Rights
Debate in Congress over calls to ban Chinese social media platform TikTok has led to the introduction of the RESTRICT Act by Senator Mark Warner…
Blog
Three Important Policy Reforms in H.R 1
The House of Representatives this week is expected to consider H.R. 1, the “Lower Energy Costs Act.” Here are three of the most…
Testimony
Testimony of Ben Lieberman Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and members of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Ben Lieberman and I…
Discourse Magazine
The Abundance Agenda: Energy, the Master Resource
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA’s Reconsideration of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
Dear Dr. Perlmutt,We appreciate the opportunity to submit this comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule entitled “Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air…