Forbes
“U.S. Antitrust Enforcers Should Reject AI Interventionism”
Alden Abbott with the Mercatus Center discusses the problems with the FTC and DOJ joint statement on AI competition.
Litigation
Bill Word, David Daquin v.U.S. Department of Energy
On June 13, 2024, CEI attorneys (representing David Daquin and Bill Word) filed a lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, against the Department of…
Litigation
Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau et al
In December of 2023, the Hobby Distillers Association – and four of its individual members – sued the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau…
Blog
Harris’s rent control support clashes with even progressive economists
As one of his last policy initiatives before officially dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden unveiled a housing plan that included…
Blog
Top-down economic ‘moonshot’ incompatible with bottom-up ideals
In her book Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, economist Mariana Mazzucato proposes rebranding the United States’s economy. An advocate behind Biden’s Build…
Blog
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals finds FCC’s universal service fee unconstitutional under the nondelegation doctrine
Late yesterday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Consumer Research v. FCC that breathes new life into the nondelegation doctrine. This…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Dead malls and retail nostalgia with Sal Amadeo
In this week’s episode we cover state-level regulatory reform, the opinions of Latino voters, Biden’s tax on stock buybacks, and another…
National Review
“The FTC’s Usurpatory Noncompete Ban”
Former acting FTC chair and commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen argues that the Commission lacks authority to issue its noncompete rule.
Wall Street Journal
“Kroger, Albertsons Agree to Pause Merger as FTC, State Challenges Proceed”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the latest with the FTC’s challenge to the grocery merger.
News Release
Positive signs in 2024’s second quarter GDP report: CEI analysis
The nation’s GDP grew 2.8 percent during the second quarter of 2024. Strong growth indicates rapidly improving living standards and an easier fight against…
Op-Eds
Tariffs Don’t Protect Jobs
Many Americans, including it seems the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the Republican Party, worry that trade costs jobs. This helps to explain why…
Blog
Kamala Harris’s California quid pro quo for unions
Kamala Harris is now the Democrats’ likely nominee to succeed Biden and she may pull the administration’s already pro-union labor policy even further leftwards. A…
Reason
Senate To Vote on Web Censorship Bill Disguised as Kids Safety
Reason cites Jessica Melugin on KOSA safety flaws “KOSA would trigger mandatory uploading of government id’s, face scans or social security numbers of…
News Release
New bill would restore agency deference and weaken Congress’s authority
New legislation introduced today by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would reverse the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright and codify deference to federal…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: Carbon taxes, Chevron, nuclear bill becomes law, & more!
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication…
Blog
Congress in a post-Chevron world
The House Committee on Administration conducted a regulatory reform hearing today entitled “Congress in a Post-Chevron World.” The title refers to the anticipated sea…
Blog
House Interior and Environment spending bill: Critical provisions and amendments
This week, the House is expected to take up the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 (H.R. 8998). The…
RealClear Energy
The SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule Is a Dark Cloud Over Energy Abundance
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate disclosure rule posts real problems for public companies. The SEC’s mission is to do facilitate capital formation and…
The Washington Times
KOSA is a poor substitute for parenting
Good parenting was always a lot of work, but guarding kids’ online mental health has added to the parental load. Not every problem has a…
Testimony
Wayne Crews testimony before the Committee on House Administration: “Congress in a Post-Chevron World”
Introduction Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Morelle, and Members of the House Committee on Administration, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on issues surrounding…
The Wall Street Journal
The FTC Goes Evidence-Free
Through three years of Lina Khan’s leadership, the Federal Trade Commission has suffered an unprecedented streak of high-profile court defeats. That’s because the agency regularly makes…
The Daily Signal
The Overreaching Power of the Bureaucracy Is Destroying Our Representative Government
The United States is a republic with decision-making power held by elected legislators representing the people. Yet many of the biggest decisions affecting the lives…
Blog
Generator sales are rising… And there’s good reason
I bought a house earlier this year, and to my absolute delight, it came with a built in 16 kilowatt (kW) generator, plenty of power for…
Blog
Combatting climate anxiety: Yes, it’s okay to have children
The message that the Earth is rapidly decaying has long been evangelized by college professors and other gung-ho Malthusians in the media. It has led…
Capitol Matters
East Palestine Report: Congress Should Rethink Its Reaction
In almost a decade working for the British Department for Transport, no officials impressed me as much as the accident investigators. They were dedicated experts who…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Blood donors and paper marketing
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. The Republicans held their convention in Milwaukee. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was convicted on bribery charges and resigned, leaving…
Blog
NLRB backs down on Joint Employer
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn an appeal of a district…
USDA
USDA COULD BE IMPACTED BY PROJECT 2025
USDA cites Daren Bakst on Project 2025: The chapter, written by former Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Policy and Regulation, Center for Energy, Climate…
Investigate Midwest
Farm programs, USDA would shrink under Project 2025 goals for ag
Investigate Midwest cites Daren Bakst on Project 2025: So, what about the author? Daren Bakst wrote the agriculture chapter in Project 2025. He is now…
Microsoft Start
Letting Businesses Decide How to Deal With Theft
MSN cites senior economist Ryan Young on self-checkout lanes: Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said, “Self-checkout lanes can save on…
The Federalist
It’s Time For Congress To Take Out America’s Regulatory Trash
The Federalist cites CEI on yearly regulations: According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), 2019 was the only year on record in which…
Blog
‘Are you serious? Are you serious?’
Earlier this week, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal recapped former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s famous response when a journalist questioned her about the…
Review-Journal
Yes, you do have the right to a jury trial
The Constitution says you have the right to a jury trial. At least in its in-house court, the Securities and Exchange Commission argued against that…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Inflation and Bidenomics with Kurt Couchman
In this week’s episode we cover Capital One buying Discover, solutions for high housing prices, China’s soft-power investment strategy, and President…
Blog
Enhancing oversight: GAO’s blueprint for congressional control over agency rulemaking
On July 5, the White House released its biannual regulatory agenda for the executive branch, which highlights agency priorities for the next six months.
Capital Matters
Corner Post: Helping Hold the Administrative State to Account
Much attention has been paid to the Supreme Court’s recent overrule of the 40-year-old Chevron decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. Chevron had facilitated the expansion…
Legal Brief
CEI Issues Amicus Brief: Humphrey’s Executor
Humphreys Executor Amicus FinalDownload…
Review-Journal
EDITORIAL: Increasingly desperate Biden steps up the pandering
Review-Journal cited CEI on deregulation of rent control initiative “Getting rid of regulatory barriers … will increase supply and lower cost for homeownership and renting,”…
DC Journal
Rent Control Idea Undermines Affordable Housing in the Long Run
The Biden administration has called for imposing federal limits on rent increases. This is a profoundly misguided policy from an economic perspective, and since it lacks…
Blog
Book review: The War on Prices by Ryan Bourne
I have reached a stage in my career where younger colleagues sometimes ask me for advice. There are a few evergreen pieces of advice I…
News Release
Biden Rent Control Idea is Bad Housing Policy
President Biden today issued a call to impose federal limits on rent increases nationwide. That idea would have many drawbacks, not just for landlords…
Decrypt
Republicans Likely to Follow Through With Pro-Crypto Agenda, Experts Say
Decrypt cited CEI on crypto currency While the details of the next era of crypto regulation remain to be seen, elected officials in both…
Blog
Rent control doesn’t work. Increase housing supply instead.
President Biden will soon announce a proposed 5 percent cap on rent increases. Rent control is one of the most ridiculed economic policies there…
The Wall Street Journal
The Trump Economy, Past and Future
The Washington Examiner cites Fred L. Smith Fellow in Regulatory Studies Wayne Crews on deregulation and the Federal Register: The Trump deregulation may have been…
Blog
Union leaders need Trump more than he needs them
Credit where credit is due, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien faced a tricky tightrope walk when he spoke before the Republican National Convention…
Blog
The deregulation maverick
A deregulation wave occurred in the American economic landscape in the late 1970s, particularly in the utility and airlines sectors. This shift was driven by…
Blog
There is no such thing as a free lunch, especially under MMT.
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has emerged in recent years as a highly-debated economic concept, challenging traditional views on national debt and money. MMT is a…
News Release
CEI President and CEO Kent Lassman reacts to assassination attempt in Pennsylvania
Reason
“FTC Opens a Backdoor Route to Age Verification on Social Media”
Elizabeth Nolan Brown with Reason discusses the FTC’s order against social media app “NGL.”…
Blog
Kansas REINS Act overrides governor’s veto
Advocates for government accountability recently scored a big win with the passage of House Bill 2648 in Kansas. The Regulations from the Executive In…
Blog
How major rules are surging under the Biden administration
We’ve taken a look at the total numbers of significant regulations issued this year in the Biden administration as well as at the subsets…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Watermelon taxes and crash test dummies
CEI’s home distillery court case had a good week. President Biden had a bad week. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from rotorcraft to desert…
Fox News
Federal judge rules that 156-year-old ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional
Fox News cites CEI’s Devin Watkins and Dan Greenberg on Hobby Distillers Association v. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau et al: Devin Watkins,…
National Review
Teamsters for Trump?
Among the speakers at the GOP convention this year will be International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. He will be…
Real Clear Markets
“Lina Khan Seeks More Funding to Help Europe Regulate U.S. Companies”
Charles Sauer with the Market Institute urges Congress to not increase the FTC’s budget.
The Washington Examiner
The Inflation Reduction Act’s buyback tax restrains public company growth
The Biden administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress imposed a new tax on corporate stock buybacks as part of the …
News Release
CEI to Recognize Entrepreneurship and George Will’s Promethean Contributions at Julian L. Simon Memorial Dinner in September
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…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The new progress movement with Ronald Bailey
In this week’s episode we cover the end of Chevron deference at the Supreme Court, the economic impact of future Trump tariffs,…
News Release
Federal court declares federal ban on at-home distilling unconstitutional
Late last night, after months of litigation, a federal court in Texas decided the federal ban on at-home distillation of beverage spirits is unconstitutional. The…
News Release
Inflation remains stubborn despite June’s good report: CEI analysis
Monthly inflation dropped -0.1 percent in June after being unchanged in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report. While this is good…
The Washington Examiner
Inflation has spread to your air conditioner, and federal regulations are the cause
Blog
Missing the economists in FTC’s latest PBM study
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its not-so-objectively titled interim report on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs): Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug…
Inside Sources
Yes, You Do Have the Right to a Jury Trial
The Constitution says you have the right to a jury trial. At least in its in-house court, the Securities and Exchange Commission argued against that…
Truth on the Market
“Reports of the Current FTC’s Intellectual Integrity Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the economic shortcomings of the FTC’s 6(b) study on pharmacy benefit managers.
Blog
You have the right to a jury trial
The Supreme Court’s recent Jarkesy decision affirms that people have the right to a jury trial, even in regulatory agencies’ special in-house courts. My colleague…
Washington Examiner
Conservatives must remain committed to dismantling the IRA’s “green” subsidies
The Inflation Reduction Act is partisan legislation packed with what could amount to more than one trillion dollars in “green” …
News Release
Report: Nine essential principles for the power grid
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report calls on legislators to consider nine important principles for the power grid before passing any legislation that could…
Study
How to Keep the Lights On
A reliable electrical grid is essential to all aspects of daily life. Power keeps the lights on, appliances running, and keeps our homes warm on…
Blog
Supreme Court’s Jarkesy decision sheds light on the SEC’s hidden advantages
The Supreme Court’s momentous decision in SEC v Jarkesy provides us with a rare glimpse into the murky realm of administrative adjudication. Despite there being more…
Blog
Small group of House members introduce pro-tax, anti-energy bill
The PROVE IT Act (S. 1863) is a pro-tax, anti-energy bill that, if passed, would lead to a carbon tax on imports…
Blog
Anticipating post-Chevron federal power moves
In a series of landmark rulings just before Independence Day (SEC v. Jarkesy, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of…
Real Clear Markets
“Markets, Not the FTC, Produce Affordable Luxury”
Norm Singleton from the Market Institute argues that the FTC’s challenge to the Tapestry/Capri merger is ill founded.
News Release
New FTC study on drug costs fails to conduct empirical analysis of market conditions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) release a new study today claiming Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are responsible for higher drug costs. FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak…
Comment
Request for Comment on Proposed Modifications and Exclusion Process in Section 301 Investigation
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Modifications and…
Blog
The Supreme Court sends warning shot to NLRB
Only one of the Supreme Court’s cases this term dealt directly with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), but several addressed the broader question of…
News Release
June jobs report indicate hiring slowdown: CEI analysis
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released June’s jobs numbers which reported an addition of 206,000 jobs to the economy compared to May’s…
Blog
A rule for the Fed
The Washington Examiner is running a series of pieces on policies the next administration should pursue. My contribution details a way to contain inflation…
Blog
Takeaways from Biden’s new Spring 2024 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations
At the end of the July 4th holiday weekend, the Biden administration Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Spring 2024 edition of the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Coke ovens and stolen firearms
It was a short week in honor of Independence Day. Speculation swirled about President Biden’s political future. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from brominate vegetable…
The Hill
“The FTC Should Throw Out Its ‘Junk Fees’ Rule and Start Over”
Yaël Ossowski from the Consumer Choice Center argues that the FTC’s junk fee rule defies market logic.
Wall Street Journal
“Lina Khan Loses in Court Again—This Time on Non-Competes”
The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board discusses the preliminary injunction of the noncompete rule.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
In this week’s episode we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme Court’s…
Blog
Could AI regulation hamper the next agricultural revolution?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the agricultural industry, along with other sectors of the economy. Already, AI has reduced…
Blog
Reflecting on independence: More than fireworks and barbecues
As we enjoy barbecues, fireworks, and parades on the Fourth of July, we also reflect upon the deeper significance of our nation’s Independence Day and…
Blog
New Jersey moves to ban gas powered leaf blowers
In the latest example of the environmentalist cause going too far, the New Jersey State Senate has voted to move forward with a bill that…
Blog
California’s Newsom grants exception to state law so restaurants can cope with other state law
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation over the weekend that exempted restaurants in the Golden State from…
Truth on the Market
“After Loper Bright, FTC Awaits Its Turn At-Bat”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics explores what effect the overturning of Chevron may have on the FTC’s noncompete rule.
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Blocks Tempur Sealy, Mattress Firm’s Deal on Competition Concerns
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s recent challenge to Tempur Sealy’s $4 billion acquisition of Mattress Firm.
Blog
USTR inconsistent in their application of new tariffs
I recently made comments on the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) latest Section 301 tariffs, specifically those imposed on facemasks and steel and…
News Release
CEI study: Congress should establish limits on regulatory power to ensure agencies are not answering major policy questions
Many of the biggest policy decisions affecting the lives of Americans are made by federal agencies, not Congress. According to a new report from…
Study
Congress, Not Agencies, Should Answer Major Policy Questions
Many of the biggest policy decisions affecting the lives of Americans are made by federal agencies, not Congress. During the Biden administration, this has included…
Letters
CEI joins Advancing American Freedom- Coalition letter on Consolidated Audit Trail
Dear Member of Congress, The Biden Administration is on the verge of completing an almost decade-long project to create a massive government database containing the…
News Release
Supreme Court decision clarifies statute of limitations around regulation
Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a case examining statutes of…
News Release
Supreme Court decision on state social media laws portends free speech victories
Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Moody v. NetChoice & CCIA and NetChoice & CCIA v. Paxton, two related cases reviewing state…
Blog
CEI opposes SEC’s gag rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission does not like to be criticized. That’s not unusual. What is unusual is that the SEC includes a prohibition of…
Blog
SCOTUS overrules Chevron Doctrine
The Supreme Court has spoken. “Chevron is overruled.” The 40-year-old Chevron decision had increased the level of judicial deference accorded to federal agencies to interpret…
The Center Square
A big win for representative government
Federal courts will no longer favor bureaucrats over the public, thanks to a June 28 U.S. Supreme Court decision. In a 6-3 opinion in Loper…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Rear impacts and hot air balloons
The Supreme Court issued its Jarkesy decision and restored the right to a jury trial in regulatory agencies’ in-house courts. President Biden and former…
News Release
Supreme Court Ends Chevron Doctrine that Favored Regulatory Agencies in Court
The U.S. Supreme Court today overruled itself on a longstanding, controversial doctrine that gave regulatory agencies an unfair advantage in court – the so-called “Chevron…