Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed OMB Circular No. A-4
RE: Request for Comments on Proposed OMB Circular No. A-4, “Regulatory Analysis”, 88 FR 20915 (Apr. 7, 2023), Docket OMB-2022-0014 Dear Mr. Revesz, I am…
Blog
Moore good news? CEI responds to government in landmark tax case
Earlier today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a reply brief in the Moores’ case. A few weeks ago, the government argued that the Supreme…
News Release
Supreme Court Protects Property Rights from Federal Overreach in Sackett v. EPA Decision
The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the Sackett family in a property rights dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA claimed…
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
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…
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
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
Congress Should Appropriate Money for the CFPB Through the Congressional Appropriation Process
Last week, I had the honor of testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy on how Congress should…
Testimony
Testimony of Devin Watkins before the House Financial Services Committee on 03/09/23
Introduction Chairman Barr, Ranking Member Foster, and Members of this Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Devin Watkins.
News Release
Supreme Court Rightly to Review CFPB Funding Constitutionality
The Supreme Court today announced it will review the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding, an unusual arrangement of unchecked funding from…
Comment
CEI Comments on the Proposed Regulation on Digital Discrimination of Access
Introduction. On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of…
Blog
Agencies Are Limited in Which Congressional Power They Can Exercise
Can unelected federal bureaucrats force people to hire police to ensure that the law is complied with—even if Congress never said anything about hiring cops…
Blog
More on Moore: A History of Direct Taxes and their Application to Moore v. United States
Many politicians, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), advocate taxes on wealth. These taxes are easy to abuse, which is why the Founders placed…
Blog
Ninth Circuit Refuses to Reconsider Allowing Wealth Taxes
Moore v. United States—a case in which CEI represents the Moore family—is likely to be the most important tax case of the 21st century. Yesterday’s…
Citation
Court showdown looming on Elizabeth Warren’s Wall Street-policing agency
News Release
Biden CFPB Asks Supreme Court to Review Ruling on Its Unconstitutionality
The Biden administration has moved to appeal an October court ruling against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a ruling that invalidated controversial restrictions on…
Inside Sources
Why the CFPB Is at Death’s Door
President Reagan once said, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on…
Legal Brief
CEI et al. Opening Brief in CEI v. EPA
CERTIFICATE AS TO PARTIES, RULINGS, AND RELATED CASES Pursuant to Circuit Rule 28, petitioners American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Clean Fuels Development Coalition, Competitive Enterprise …
News Release
Court Rules CFPB Funding Structure Unconstitutional: CEI Statements
A Fifth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s unusual funding structure is unconstitutional, in a lawsuit brought by a small-dollar (payday)…
News Release
CEI Seeks Court Order on National Climate Task Force Records
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sought a court order to preserve relevant documents and other materials from the White House’s National Climate Task…
Blog
Government May Not Avoid Just Compensation in Debt Seizures
Some state governments have been acting as if the Fifth Amendment’s requirement of just compensation doesn’t apply in the course of collection of government debts.
News Release
Court Rules Against Vaccine/Mask Mandates Imposed by Federal Agency
Today, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled the federal government cannot require Head Start program teachers, staff and volunteers be vaccinated against COVID-19 nor that…
Litigation
Competitive Enterprise Institute et al. v. EPA
News Release
CEI Amicus Brief Supports States Challenging Biden Administration Appliance Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON—The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last week, supporting Louisiana and a group…
Legal Brief
CEI Files Brief of Amici Curiae in Louisiana v. Department of Energy
In Louisiana v. Department of Energy, CEI attorneys argued that the Department of Energy’s rescission of a rule prescribing an energy conservation standard for a…
E&E News
EPA blocks bid to review basis for climate regs
E&E News cites CEI Attorney Devin Watkins on climate regulation: “It’s shocking that it took more than five years for EPA…
Blog
Congress Must Decide How to Choose Between Courts and Agency Adjudication
For some time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a choice of prosecutorial forums. It has been able to choose between prosecuting violators…
Blog
Fifth Circuit Upholds the Right to A Jury Trial Against the SEC
John Thomas Financial CEO Thomas Belesis was riding high, having been awarded the 2011 Businessman of the Year Award from the New York Republicans. While…
Blog
Peer Review for Thee but Not for Me
In February 2017, the Competitive Enterprise Institute petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding. CEI explained in detail…
News Release
Judge Rejects CDC’s Unfounded Mask Mandate for Travel
U.S. District Court Judge Mizelle today vacated the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mask mandate for public transit, such as airports, train stations, airplanes,…
Blog
Federal Judge Invalidates Federal Mask Mandate
For over a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has threatened criminal and civil penalties and mandatory removal for not wearing a…
E&E News
Inside a Legal Doctrine that Could Derail Biden Climate Regs
E&E News cites CEI Attorney Devin Watkins on the EPA’s new legislation outlining vehicle emissions standards: As in the Supreme Court…
Blog
CEI Submits Appeal of Lack of Peer Review for EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases on procedural grounds. This is the document which supposedly…
News Release
CEI Files Court Petition Challenging EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today filed a petition for review with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of itself, four…
Blog
Judge Cain’s Injunction Concerning Social Cost of Carbon Is Reasonable
Jonathan Adler’s recent article on a preliminary injunction by Judge James D. Cain makes it sound like it’s crazy, but I’m afraid that…
E&E News
Group Asks EPA to Nix Fuel Rule that Relied on Climate Metric
E&E News cites Attorney Devin Watkins on the EPA’s social cost of carbon: A conservative think tank is asking EPA to reconsider…
News Release
Court Stops Biden Admin from Transformative Expansion in Regulatory Authority
A federal court blocked the Biden Administration from implementing “social cost of carbon” regulations today. CEI experts reacted to the decision. Senior fellow…
News Release
Supreme Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate, Cites CEI-Related Case on Separation of Powers
The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked the Biden administration’s controversial test-or-vaccine mandate to be imposed on countless employers nationwide – and cited to a 2010…
News Release
Biden Energy Department Blocks Faster Dishwashers That Consumers Want
The Biden administration today undid a useful, consumer-friendly reform put in place by Biden’s predecessor, reinstating energy restrictions that make household dishwashers take much longer…
Blog
CEI in Amicus Brief Asks Supreme Court to Block the Clean Power Plan that Congress Rejected
People often talk about the undemocratic and illegitimate administrative state, of which the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the perfect example. The Supreme Court will…
News Release
Biden EPA Fuel Standard Will Impose All-Pain, No-Gain Policies on Consumers
The Biden administration today announced a final rule raising fuel economy standards for cars and small trucks, reversing a more sensible Trump-era rule. The new…
Blog
Request to OIRA to Ensure Peer Review of Agency’s Medical Marijuana Claims
For two years, CEI has been trying to get the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to conduct…
Blog
Another Court Rejects Federal Attempt to Impose a Vaccine Mandate
Shortly following the Fifth Circuit blocking the private employer mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Judge Matthew Schelp of the Eastern…
News Release
CEI Attacks FDA Salt Guidelines for Failure to Undergo Peer Review, Charges Violation of Federal Information Quality Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today formally requested the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to peer review nutrition guidelines on sodium in…
News Release
Court Blocks Enforcement of Biden/OSHA Vaccine Mandate Citing Serious Flaws
Statement by Devin Watkins, CEI attorney: “The Fifth Circuit’s decision to temporarily block enforcement of the OSHA vaccine mandate on Saturday is a win…
News Release
OSHA Vaccine Mandate — Trouble for Employers, Rough Time in Courts
The Biden administration today published its much-anticipated vaccine mandate for businesses that employ 100 or more people. This “emergency temporary standard” by the Occupational…
New York Times
Supreme Court to Hear Case on E.P.A.’s Power to Limit Carbon Emissions
The New York Times cites CEI attorney Devin Watkins on the Supreme Court hearing a case on the EPA’s power to limit carbon emissions.
News Release
Supreme Court Will Review EPA Over-Reach on Energy Rule
The Supreme Court today has agreed to review the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal’s rejection of the Trump administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan…
Comment
CEI’s Devin Watkins Comments on DOE’s Dishwasher Rulemaking
Hello, my name is Devin Watkins from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. It was CEI’s petition for rulemaking that caused the Department of Energy to create…
The Washington Examiner
OSHA Cannot Constitutionally Coerce People into Vaccinations
President Joe Biden says he will have federal regulators make employers require workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, or else they’ll…