Washington Examiner
GOP tees up effort to roll back Biden’s ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited in the Washington Examiner on recent GOP efforts to roll back an ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule: Sean Higgins, a…
Blog
A promising 40th anniversary year for CEI
This year CEI celebrates 40 years of eliminating excessive regulation and unleashing human potential. To kick off our anniversary year, we unveiled a new logo…
News Release
More to inflation story than meets the eye: CEI analysis
According to the Consumer Price Index, December saw inflation rise to 3.4 percent, up 0.3 percent from the month prior. Despite this, inflation numbers…
Citation
GOP tees up effort to roll back Biden’s ‘overly broad’ joint employer rule
CEI’s Sean Higgins is cited on the Washington Examiner about a GOP effort to rollback employer rules: Sean Higgins, a labor policy expert at the…
Blog
Appeals court rejects DOE’s attempt to eliminate fast dishwashers
The days of dishwashers with four-hour cleaning cycles may be coming to an end. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals repudiated the Biden administration’s…
Blog
Congress could revoke many costly Biden admin rules with Congressional Review Act. Here’s a list!
Until April of 2023, a federal rule costing $100 million was considered “economically significant.” Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review) raised that…
Blog
Power to the… regulators? That’s what new worker classification rule will do
The US Labor Department’s new worker classification rule is a major step backwards, causing trouble for worker and employer alike as they try to…
U.S. Department of Labor
Biden Labor Rule Undermines Independent Contractors
The Biden Labor Department today put out a new rule that makes it harder for workers to choose independent contractor status. Competitive Enterprise Institute…
The Center Square
Court blocks Biden effort to tighten regulations on washing machines, dishwashers
CEI’s Devin Watkins is cited in The Center Square on dishwasher regulation: “This decision allows manufacturers to build better dishwashers, not be encumbered by counterproductive…
Fox News
Biden admin’s crackdown on dishwashers dealt blow by appeals court
“In this opinion, the court has forced DOE to follow the law and even noted that one of the positions DOE took in this suit…
Breitbart
Federal Court Smacks Down ‘Arbitrary’ Biden Rule Regulating Dishwashers, Laundry Machines
CEI’s work from 2018 was cited in Breitbart on energy regulations: In 2018, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) asked the DOE to consider energy regulations…
Blog
Don’t make crypto the electricity scapegoat
A radical new tax proposed by the Biden administration would make cryptocurrency mining the scapegoat for electricity usage. The so-called Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME)…
Study
Don’t Depower Crypto
Introduction In President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget blueprint,1 the president proposed a new tax aimed at the electricity use caused by cryptocurrency mining. Known…
News Release
Report: Energy Tax Targeting Crypto Industry – Bad Idea for a New Year
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report investigates whether the energy usage of certain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin merits a targeted electricity tax on the industry…
News Release
Fifth Circuit rules for consumers on dishwasher regulation: CEI statement
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion that creates new possibilities for consumer choice and manufacturer innovation in the…
Letters
NTU Coalition Letter on Important Needed Tax Reforms
Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Jeffries, On behalf of the undersigned organizations who represent the interests of taxpayers,…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Auto dealers and automated tariffs
The first week of the new year’s regulations is in the books. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from junk fees to cable tv competition. On…
News Release
216,000 jobs added in December, employers looking ahead to 2024: CEI Analysis
The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December, slightly less than the year’s average gains. CEI experts explain why the labor market is in…
City Journal
A “Coordinated Campaign”
The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a split between those who believe that the government has broad authority to control every aspect of the economy and society…
E&E News
DOE in 2024: Hydrogen, LNG and climate
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited in E&E News on the appliance standards process: “[The gas industry’s] concern broadly — and it’s my concern too —…
Daily Caller
Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Dreams Are A Nightmare For Average Americans, Experts Say
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in the Daily Caller on student loan cancellation: “Parents are already willing to save and sacrifice in order to afford…
Fox News
DC greenlights aggressive electric vehicle mandate despite critics sounding alarm on high consumer costs
CEI’s Myron Ebell is cited on Fox News about aggressive EV vehicle mandates: “The only way the electrification of the transportation sector and of home…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Protecting your property rights with Betsy Sanz
In this week’s episode we cover slow-moving infrastructure projects, the impact of the conservative boycott of Bud Light, good and…
Blog
Unconstitutionality Index going into 2024: 46 rules for every law
The Biden’s administration’s 3,018 rules and regulations of 2023 is fairly typical of agency output these days. But while rule counts remain relatively stable,…
Washington Examiner
Swamp dishes most regulations in nearly three decades
CEI’s Wayne Crews is cited in the Washington Examiner about an uptick in regulations out of Washington D.C.: “The upshot here is that 46…
Town Hall
Biden Admin Targets Fridges, Freezers In Latest Slew of Appliance Crackdown
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited on Townhall about the latest appliance crackdown: Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: 2023 year-end special
The tentative final numbers for new regulations for 2023 are in: The final four-day week of 2023 was relatively slow: 60 final regulations, 34 proposed…
Citation
Big Business Took A Beating From Conservatives Over Woke Marketing In 2023, But Did It Change Anything?
CEI’s Richard Morrison is cited in Daily Caller on ‘woke marketing:’ “Regardless of what InBev’s senior management or board members believe in their hearts about…
Blog
Federal Register 2023 gives Congress 90,402 reasons to restrain the regulators
As we bid farewell to 2023 and ring in 2024, the Federal Register reveals a noteworthy chapter in regulatory history under the Joe Biden administration.
Blog
Transparent New Year: SEC shows its work after CEI prodding
As we enter the New Year, it is important to reflect on what went well and not so well in 2023. We should do our…
Washington Times
Cutting-edge drugs could vanish under Biden’s unprecedented move to seize patents
CEI’s Dr. Joel Zinberg is cited in the Washington Times on the Biden Administration’s move to seize patents: Dr. Joel Zinberg, a senior fellow…
Daily Caller
‘Tremendously Damaging’: Here’s The Most Aggressive Restrictions Biden’s EPA Pushed On Americans In 2023
CEI’s Daren Bakst is cited in Daily Caller article addressing in on aggressive EPA restrictions: “The EPA took a disturbing trend to a new level…
Forbes
Artificial Intelligence Trends To Watch In 2024
Making predictions is always hard, especially in an industry moving as quickly as artificial intelligence. But as we stand on the cusp of a new…
National Review
How Does One-Third the CO2 Emissions Cause Three Times the Climate Damage?
This month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published revised estimates of the social cost of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide — the three…
Blog
Liz Warren’s revolving door with Wall Street
There was an interesting development in the world of big government and big business recently. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declared that “The abuse of…
Blog
American small businesses are paying through the roof for regulations
In a new column at Forbes, I take look at the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) update of its …
Washington Examiner
Swamp’s hidden regulations cost $50,000 per employee, lost investment
CEI’s Clyde Wayne Crews is cited on Washington Examiner about hidden regulation cost: “The choices made 100 years ago in creating and erecting the administrative…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Avoiding a Central Bank Digital Currency with Nicholas Anthony
In this week’s episode we cover the legislative record of House of Representatives in 2023, the proliferation of conferences about ESG investing,…
Real Clear Markets
“FTC Chair Lina Khan Must Either Pivot, or Face Irrelevance”
Paul Steidler with the Lexington Institute details how 2023 was one of the worst years in the FTC’s 109-year history.
DC Journal
“Lina Khan and Xi Jinping – Antitrust Allies”
Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, draws parallels between Lina Khan’s approach to antitrust and the Chinese Communist Party.
Washington Examiner
“The Key Feature of Bidenomics: Regulatory Overreach”
Scott Brown, former US Senator and ambassador, explains how Lina Khan’s approach at the FTC is a key feature of Bidenomics.
CNBC
“Jim Cramer Sees FTC Chair Lina Khan’s Policies Hurting Investor Portfolios”
Host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” Jim Cramer recently commented on FTC Chair Lina Khan’s hostile stance towards mergers.
Fox News
Biden admin launched an aggressive campaign targeting home appliances with eco regulations in 2023
CEI’s Ben Lieberman was cited in Fox News on the targeting of home appliances: “Ostensibly, these DOE efficiency standards are supposed to benefit consumers. That’s…
Blog
No, we don’t want as many new laws as possible
The New York Times recently published an article reviewing what happened in the House of Representatives over the past 12 months, and it gives…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Oxides of nitrogen and approaching of whales
Congress has adjourned until January, so the Republic is safe until then. The Fourteenth Amendment suddenly became a factor in the presidential race. Meanwhile,…
Fox News
Biden anti-consumer crusade targets 4 more types of appliances
2023 was an unusually bad year for appliance regulations, and future years won’t be much better unless Congress finds a way to stop…
The Hill
Don’t hand a blank check to a troubled FDIC
When shocking reports surfaced recently of discrimination, harassment and a toxic workplace culture at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, members of both parties…
New York Post
Eco-Warriors are now battling Christmas
In one of the season’s most predictable developments, climate activists have declared war on Christmas trees, vandalizing holiday displays in cities across Germany. Like any…
Blog
The existential threat AI poses to the Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild recently concluded a lengthy strike against Hollywood studios with a contract that included new protections for its members from artificial…
Blog
Even the University of California system has dropped carbon offsets
MIT Technology Review just published an article on one of my perennial favorite topics, carbon offsets. According to senior editor James Temple, the University…
Blog
Dear California, just let the trains run
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) in April approved regulations to ban the operation of diesel locomotives in California and the rule goes…
E&E
Want to talk rules? The White House just made it easier.
Wayne Crews is cited on E&E about government rule making: Wayne Crews, a fellow in regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think…
Forbes
Biden’s Counterproductive Crusade Against Junk Fees
In his latest effort to protect consumers, President Biden is promising to save Americans billions each year by eliminating so-called “junk fees.” Biden’s…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: (De-)regulating tech and AI with Adam Thierer
In this week’s episode we cover social mobility in the 50 states, Elizabeth Warren’s revolving door with Wall Street, the latest…
Mercatus Center
“Reforming the Federal Trade Commission”
Alden Abbott from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University proposes 12 areas of reform at the FTC for the next administration.
Comment
FCC: Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 88 Fed. Reg. 76048
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) respectfully submits these comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) adopted on October 19, 2023, in the…
Blog
A steel sumo that might wrestle China to the mat
There are ironies a-plenty in the news that Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. plans to buy U.S. Steel. The fact that a foreign company would own…
Comment
Comments to EPA SNPR for Power Plant Rule
Dear Mr. Fellner: I appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for the proposed rule “New Source Performance Standards…
Fox News
Biden admin aims to push towns, cities to adopt green energy building codes: ‘Very suspicious’
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited on Fox News regarding green energy building codes: “It’s a lot of money, and it’s clearly designed to push the…
IREF Europe
“THE TEN THOUSAND COMMANDMENTS” AND THE COST OF NORMATIVE INFLATION
Blog
New Liquefied Natural Gas ruling makes Jones Act even more unreasonable
A new Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) decision will make compliance with the Jones Act even more onerous for natural gas producers. The…
Blog
FDA power grab would hurt labs, patients, rule of law
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed to amend one of its rules for the purpose of unlawfully expanding its jurisdiction over diagnostic tests.
Blog
Silver lining? New federal merger guidelines: 11 bad ideas instead of 13!
Today the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued their final version of the 2023 Merger Guidelines.
Blog
Should government-favored non-profits have their own shadow courts?
Imagine being sued by a private nonprofit that is sanctioned by a federal agency to enforce securities laws. The nonprofit appoints its own judges and…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Baby formula waivers and phonorecords
The 2023 Federal Register became the second-largest ever, dating back to 1936. A new CEI study makes the case for reforming administrative law…
National Review
Adam Smith, a Roman Emperor, and Slavery
Adam Smith tells a story of the new Emperor Augustus and his reaction to the behavior of one of his allies, an equestrian (or “knight”) magnate…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: COP28, House passes car legislation, and carbon taxes
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
Defense bill amendment could help undo China’s unfair advantage in environmental treaties
Congress is currently considering the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA), including a long list of amendments added to the bill.
The Dispatch
Why ‘Dollarize’?
The newly inaugurated president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is variously described as a radical libertarian, a right-wing populist, and an ultraconservative. Rather than try to…
National Review
Mass Transit: Preferred over Cars, Except When It Isn’t
For decades, environmentalists and urban planners have been on a mission to get Americans out of their cars and on to buses, light rail, commuter trains,…
Forbes
Why China’s Growing Challenge To Big Tech Is A Problem For The Pentagon
CEI’s Joseph W. Sullivan’s study on global anti trust is cited in Forbes: As a report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute noted just…
Daily Caller
‘Big Trouble’: Here’s How Newsom’s California Is Killing The American Auto Industry
CEI’s Marlo Lewis is cited in the Daily Caller on the state of the American auto industry: “Considering the losses and layoffs we’ve already…
National Review
Challenging the Excessive Powers of an Administrative Law Court
At least one form of government abuse might end soon. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this term for Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, which …
Yale Journal on Regulation
CEI Report on Agency Adjudication Reform
CEI’s Ryan Young and Stone Washington were cited in Yale Journal on Regulation in relation to a new CEI Report on Agency Adjudication Reform: Today,…
Blog
FTC replies to CEI in auto dealer rule, still full of hot, nitrogen-poor air
This week, the Federal Trade Commission issued its long-awaited, nearly-400 page nannyist final rule on auto and other motor vehicle dealers sales. The rule…
Comment
CEI Comments on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) respectfully submits these comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) adopted on October 19, 2023, in the…
Blog
Obscuring the SEC’s climate disclosure rule may invite a host of legal problems
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) pending climate disclosure rule has been delayed yet again. The climate disclosure rule will require publicly traded companies to quantify…
Deseret
This Supreme Court case could pave the way for a ‘wealth tax’
“If you haven’t received any income, how can you be required to pay income taxes?” Charles Moore asks in a video posted by…
Blog
Common sense has left the building: The push to redefine joint employer rule
The National Labor Relations Board did something earlier this year that union leaders and their allies on Capitol Hill have long demanded: It expanded…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Making Congress work with Kevin Kosar
In this week’s episode we cover people who fetishize old homes, the big AI risk no one’s talking about, how environmentalist activists…
Blog
America’s unfair second court system
Stone Washington and I have a paper out today on reforming administrative law courts, or ALCs. We also summarize our findings over at National…
News Release
Administrative Law Courts Are Unfair and Need Reform
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report delves into a court system that most people are unaware exists – administrative law courts, or ALCs. In addition…
Study
Conflict of Justice
Introduction Imagine that a federal agency has charged you with violating a law or regulation, and you have to defend yourself in court. But you…
Blog
Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next year?
As expected, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate the same this week, which influences other interest rates, including car and mortgage payments. The…
Blog
Khan’s FTC could harm America’s competitiveness abroad
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) threatens to put US global competitiveness at risk by pursuing stringent antitrust goals that target the largest American tech companies,…
News Release
FTC’s Aggressive Antitrust Enforcement Threatens U.S. Advantage in AI Development
According to a new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) newly aggressive antitrust enforcement toward tech companies…
Study
A Global Antitrust Paradox?
Executive summary In today’s Washington, bipartisan consensus is rare. But at least two points of consensus remain. The first is that America’s defining geopolitical challenge…
National Review
Another FDA Power Grab
The comment period for the Food and Drug Administration’s latest power grab has just concluded. Roughly 20,000 comments were submitted addressing the FDA’s proposed rule which…
New York Magazine
“Lina Khan’s Rough Year”
Ankush Khardori details the rough year Lina Khan has had as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission.
Fortune
“Competition Cop Lina Khan’s Antitrust Overreach Is Hurting U.S. Competitiveness—and Destroying Billion of Dollars in Value”
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tain of Yale University explain how Lina Khan’s antitrust agenda is being carried out poorly.
Blog
Senators asking the right question on nuclear license renewals
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) ranking member of the SenateEnvironment and Public Works Committee and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) ranking member of the Committee’s Subcommittee on…
Blog
Biden’s yearly Federal Register second-highest page count ever, could still score number one
The Federal Register is the daily depository of rules and regulations. Today, the count stood at 86,256 pages, with three weeks to go for Joe…
Blog
Inflation holds steady, Fed interest rates likely to stay put
The Consumer Price Index went up 0.1 percent in the month of November. Its 12-month increase is 3.1 percent, same as last month’s report.
Blog
Federal government waves goodbye to ‘economically significant’ regulations
Last week, the Fall 2023 edition of the White House’s Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions appeared. It features the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Address labels and exporting missiles
The FDA approved the world’s first gene-editing therapy, which could cure sickle cell disease. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, agencies issued…
The Guardian
Revealed: more than 160 representatives with climate-denying track records got Cop28 access
CEI’s Myron Ebell is cited in The Guardian on COP28 Access. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a US libertarian thinktank which earlier this year called the…
Fox News
Why creating an international body for AI is a bad idea
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently re-upped his calls for a global body, akin to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to advise member…
Forbes
OpenAI Is Now Unambiguously Profit-Driven, And That’s A Good Thing
The recent drama at OpenAI, where CEO Sam Altman was briefly dismissed by the board of directors only to be rapidly reinstated, has sparked discussion about…
News Release
Economy adds 199,000 jobs in November: CEI analysis
The U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs in the month of November, according to newly released government data. It’s a tightening labor market, with rising…
Blog
Tom Vilsack tries to change the subject, but a slush fund is still a slush fund
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack published an op-ed in direct response to an op-ed written by CEI’s Patricia Patnode in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.