National Review
The EPA Strikes Back
In last summer’s West Virginia v. EPA decision, the Supreme Court held that the EPA’s claims of vast new powers to reorganize America’s electricity sector raised…
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…
Discourse Magazine
The SEC’s Progressive Rulemaking Will Be Its Statutory Undoing
Over the past two years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has radically shifted priorities. It has moved from its mission of protecting investors and…
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…
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…
News Release
CEI Expert Warns One-Size-Fits-All Regulation of Artificial Intelligence will Hamper Innovation, Invite Rent-Seeking
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from technology executives overseeing artificial intelligence (AI) programs. Those executives were asked about oversight of the new…
Forbes
Congress Should Halt OMB’s Rewrite Of Circular A-4 Guidance On Regulatory Cost-Benefit Analysis
People love to gripe about red tape; but not only is there a method to the madness, there’s a certain madness to the method these…
Washington Times
EPA green rules increase blackout risks; emission caps on reliable fuels will shut down power plants
CEI’s Daren Bakst is cited on the Washington Times on blackout risk increases: The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposals for natural gas and coal-fired power plants…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: toy guns and trophy fisheries
The 2023 Federal Register topped 30,000 pages on May 8. New inflation numbers looked better on the surface, but actually got worse. A new…
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…
Truth on the Market
“FTC Returns to Section 18 Rulemaking with Impersonation Fraud Hearing”
Neil Chilson with the Center for Growth and Opportunity identifies the problems with the FTC’s proposed rule on imposter fraud.
Testimony
CEI’s Myron Ebell Testifies Before House Budget Committee on “Exposing the Woke, Wasteful, and Bloated Bureaucracy”
May 11, 2023 (Video of Myron Ebell’s congressional testimony can be watched here.) Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, and Members of the Budget Committee,…
Blog
What I told the EPA about its attack on Americans’ cars and mobility
The Biden administration is using the whole of government to stop Americans from driving gas-powered vehicles. This campaign began right at the start of the…
Forbes
What’s Inside The House GOP Effort To Roll Back Support For Renewables In Exchange For Raising The Debt Limit?
The Republican Party in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, recently passed legislation aimed at raising the nation’s debt limit. The bill…
News Release
Biden EPA’s Power Plant Emissions Rule Seeks to Shutter Certain Power Plants without Authorization from Congress
President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new proposed rule today mandating power plants reduce emissions drastically or shut down. The rule has…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Freedom is intoxicating with Jacob Grier
In this week’s episode we talk about public opinion regarding capitalism, eliminating COVID relief slush funds, rolling back parking mandates, partisan…
Blog
Senate committee yells ‘all aboard!’ for controversial Railway Safety Act
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved the Railway Safety Act this morning, with all Democrats and Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (OH) and Eric Schmitt…
Real Clear Markets
“Lina Khan Disdains ‘Big Tech’ and the First Amendment”
The Market Institute’s Norm Singleton argues that the FTC’s actions against Twitter are a threat to the freedom of speech.
Truth on the Market
“Bureau of Let’s Sue-Meta”
Daniel Gilman from the International Center for Law & Economics discuses the consent order saga between the FTC and Meta.
Forbes
Regional Innovation Hubs: Engines Of Economic Dynamism Or Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing?
Regional innovation hubs are one of the latest trends in American industrial policy. On the surface, they sound like a plausible way for the government…
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…
News Release
Economist James Broughel joins Competitive Enterprise Institute as senior fellow
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is pleased to welcome economist James Broughel as a Senior Fellow with a focus on innovation and dynamism. Dr. Broughel…
News Release
Inflation worse than headline number suggests
The annual inflation rate in April was the lowest it’s been in two years, according to Labor Department data released today – 4.9 percent. That…
Washington Examiner
Under Walensky, the CDC has destroyed public trust in its credibility
The White House announced last week that Dr. Rochelle Walensky will be leaving her post as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She…
Blog
EPA’s almost bare-naked electric car mandate
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks,…
Blog
Don’t drink the ‘right to repair’ Kool-Aid
“What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare posed the question in Romeo & Juliet to illustrate that a rose, even if called by a different name,…
Blog
Calling legislation the AMERICA Act doesn’t make it a good bill
The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act is back but under a new name: The Advertising Middlemen Endangering Rigorous Internet Competition Accountability Act…
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…
Land Line
Avoid seizures of cash by taking prudent measures
Recently, the Competitive Enterprise Institute distributed a report titled “Five Myths of Civil Forfeiture, Second Edition.” It is a nonprofit libertarian think tank…
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.
AEIdeas
“Federal Trade Commission Launches a Missile to Kill a Mouse”
Daniel Lyons from the American Enterprise Institute raises concerns over the legality of the FTC’s recent modification of the 2020 consent decree with Meta.
Wall Street Journal
“Lina Khan Has a Meta Fixation”
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board discuses Chair Lina Khan’s decision to replace a 2020 consent decree with Meta.
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: cloudy guidance documents and potato ledprona
The number of new final regulations this year topped 1,000 last week. It was the rare 3,000-page for the Federal Register, which will likely surpass…
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…
Wall Street Journal
Don’t Let Unspent Covid Funds Become Slush Funds
The House has passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would raise the debt limit for a year in exchange for deficit-relief measures. One of…
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:…
Blog
New Jersey fishermen challenge Chevron deference
Big news out of the Supreme Court this week as justices have agreed to hear a lawsuit challenging the so-called Chevron doctrine, a policy requiring…
Blog
Punishing success with higher mortgage rates?
The Biden administration recently implemented changes to fees on mortgages that are backed by government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Our old friend…
National Review
Stop Empowering OPEC+ by Restricting the Domestic Oil Supply
When, at the beginning of April, the 23 oil-exporting countries of OPEC+, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, announced cuts in oil…
Blog
Regulatory reform in the 118th Congress: Regulatory Accountability Act
In 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Circular A-4. A-4 is little-known but crucial oversight measure for new regulations. It gives…
News Release
253,000 Jobs Added in April 2023, but Labor Force Participation Lags
The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the labor force participation rate remains troubling,…
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…
The Boston Herald
Bakst: EPA Targets Americans’ Ability to Choose their Cars
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tailpipe emission regulations for new cars, making it more difficult for Americans to buy gas-powered vehicles. The rule is part of…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on H.R. 1525, the FAIR Act (Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform)
Dear Chairman Jordan and Ranking Member Nadler, On behalf of the undersigned organizations dedicated to the protection of civil liberties and property rights, we ask…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Grow for tomorrow with Adam Millsap
In this week’s episode we talk about judicial deference at the Supreme Court, Biden’s new mortgage rate policy, how Americans are thinking…
News Release
EARN IT Act Would Have Dangerous Unintended Consequences for Consumers
The Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting today for a markup for S. 1207, the EARN IT Act of 2023. Director of CEI’s Center for…
Washington Times
“Bipartisan Scrutiny of How FTC Reviews Mergers Is in Order”
Former U.S. Representative Rich Boucher argues that the FTC’s hostile stance towards mergers and acquisitions is deserving of criticism from both sides of the aisle.
ITIF
“FTC Overreach Is Inappropriate and Bad for Children, Says ITIF”
Daniel Castro, vice president for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, calls the FTC’s recent proposed modification of Meta’s consent decree a “politically motivated attack.”…
The Hill
Chevron case: Supreme Court could take sledgehammer to agency power
Devin Watkins, an attorney at Competitive Enterprise Institute, which filed a brief supporting the fishermen, argued the case demonstrates how powers expressly…
News Release
Fed Rate Increase the Right Move for Economy, Credibility
As expected, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point. CEI senior economist Ryan Young supports the move:…
News Release
New York Law Banning Natural Gas in New Construction Is Bad Environmental Policy, Will Increase Costs for Residents
New York passed a new law banning natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings today, the first state in the nation…
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…
The Daily Signal
Congress Must End This Multibillion-dollar Government Slush Fund
A little-known slush fund at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has become a go-to funding source for billions of dollars of abusive spending…
Comment
CEI leads comments on CFPB’s $8 price controls on credit card late fees
In the matter of the proposed rule“Credit Card Penalty Fees (Regulation Z)”Consumer Financial Protection BureauDocket No. CFPB–2023–0010; RIN 3170–AB15 Prepared by: John BerlauDirector of Finance…
Forbes
A Congressional Regulatory Report Card Can Begin to Address Biden’s New Attempts to Downplay Regulatory Costs
The Federal Register website, portals like Regulations.gov and other online databases make it far easier than in pre-Internet times to acquire information on the assortment of federal…
News Release
Report: Civil Forfeiture Policy Unjustly Deprives People of Property
An updated Competitive Enterprise Institute report calls attention to five myths used to justify the unjust law enforcement practice known as civil asset forfeiture.
Blog
Taking people’s stuff: Civil forfeiture is widespread, unjust, and resists reform
Civil forfeiture is a deeply unfair practice in which government agents take and keep billions of dollars of personal property every year – usually without…
Study
Five Myths of Civil Forfeiture
Executive Summary Every year, federal, state, and local government agents take—and permanently keep—billions of dollars of Americans’ property through civil forfeiture. The practice of civil…
National Review
Politicians Are Squandering America’s Chance to Get It Right on TikTok
National-security concerns about the world’s most popular app, TikTok, might be legitimate, but addressing them is proving a master course in Washington dysfunction. Significant questions remain…
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,…
Inside Sources
EPA Is Attacking Americans’ Ability to Choose Which Cars to Drive
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tailpipe emission regulations for new cars, making it more difficult for Americans to buy gas-powered vehicles. The rule is part…
Fox News
Biden’s Cold War: Anti-Air Conditioner Regulations Keep Piling Up
Think Biden administration regulators have it in for gas stoves? Just wait until you learn what they have in store for air conditioners.
National Review
Make Federal Red Tape Part of the Debt-Ceiling Fight
Last week, the House passed a bill that would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for more than $4 trillion in deficit cuts over a decade.
FIU News
Environmental forum brings together diverse viewpoints, experts on environmental policy
“If you’re serious about climate but you’re also serious about democracy, you’re going to have to figure out how to make them work together.” New…
News Release
CEI to Recognize Work on Abundance at Elvis-themed Julian L. Simon Memorial Dinner in September 2023
News Release
Congress Must Examine First Republic’s Woke Financing and Risk Management Regulation
Regulators today seized the failed First Republic bank and sold its operations to JPMorgan Chase. CEI financial policy expert John Berlau reiterated the need for…
News Release
Supreme Court to Hear Lawsuit Challenging Unfair ‘Chevron Doctrine’
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a lawsuit challenging the Chevron doctrine, a policy requiring courts to defer to regulatory agencies in lawsuits…
Blog
The week in ridiculous regulations: Oklahoma emissions and Big Creek crayfish
GDP grew by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Cable news hosts Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were both fired. Meanwhile, agencies…
Real Clear Markets
“Congress Must Keep a Close Eye on FTC Chairman Khan”
Former U.S. Senator for Massachusetts Scott Brown stresses the importance of congressional oversight and why lawmakers should continue to keep an eye on Lina Khan’s…
Wall Street Journal
“Lina Khan Blocks Cancer Cures”
John Tamny from FreedomWorks explains how the blocking of Illumina’s acquisition of Grail by the FTC could cost lives.
Letters
CEI Co-Leads Coalition Letter Calling For External Audit of Fed on Bank Failures
As the Federal Reserve (Fed) readies its internal review of its actions leading up to the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, we the undersigned organizations…
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…