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…
Blog
After Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Merge?
Did antitrust ideology play a role in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the slight contagion that destabilized the global banking system thereafter?…
New York Post
Biden’s latest target in his war on appliances: air conditioning units
“What these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency that doesn’t make sense,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ben Lieberman told…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 13: The Future of Online Privacy with Spencer Purnell
This week we talk about Silicon Valley Bank and political favoritism, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate agenda, the relationship of…
Blog
IPCC’s Synthesis Report Focuses More on Ideology than Science
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest Synthesis Report, released on March 20, reads like a far-left manifesto, promoting “redistributive policies,” social…
Letters
Coalition Letter on TPA BEAD funding oversight
The Honorable John Thune Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate 511 Dirksen Senate Office…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate, signaling it intends to hold firm on fighting inflation. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from…
Blog
Are Administrative Law Courts More Trouble Than They’re Worth?
As touched upon in an earlier piece, administrative law courts (ALCs) are a threat to the separation of powers, in which the executive branch…
Blog
Can HR 1 Rekindle The Blue Flame Of Freedom?
It’s not easy to choose the Biden Administration’s single most foolish climate change policy amongst many deserving candidates, but worst of all may be the assault on the residential use of natural gas. The costs of this agenda are substantial, and it’s all…
National Review
The Fed’s Risky Rate Increase Helped Its Credibility to Reduce Inflation
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate again on Wednesday, in its latest move to bring inflation back down to normal. Most people…
Blog
The Many Harms of Unlimited Deposit Insurance
Unlimited deposit insurance – the government guaranteeing that bank accounts of any size be made whole-in the event of a bank failure – would create…
Blog
Fed Credibility Depends on it Continuing to Raise Rates
Today’s federal funds rate hike is good news because it signals commitment. That will help the public to expect the Fed to continue to…
Real Clear Markets
“Gaming the FTC: Japan Colludes with Antitrust Regulators Against MSFT”
Curt Levey, President of The Committee for Justice, explains how Microsoft’s acquisition of video game developer Activision would increase competition in the gaming industry.
Blog
Desperately Seeking Regulatory Restraint
Our friends at the Wall Street Journal editorial board recently published a timely warning about the surge in federal regulation being pushed by the…
Blog
Protecting Pensions from Politics
Congress recently voted to protect pensions from politicized mismanagement and ESG fads, but President Biden has announced that he will be vetoing the measure. I…
Blog
Silicon Valley Bank, ESG, and Political Favoritism
Last weekend we all saw the beginnings of what has now become a major meltdown for Silicon Valley Bank. The bank was quickly closed by…
Forbes
The “Guidance Out Of Darkness Act” Is The Low-Hanging Fruit Of Regulatory Reform
We often marvel that we don’t actually know how many federal agencies exist. And the number of “commissions” and programs (many expired…
News Release
CEI Publishes Collection of Kevin D. Williamson Writing on the Religious Character of the Environmental Movement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new monograph today by writer-in-residence Kevin D. Williamson, titled “Inside the Carbon Cult: Reports on…
Study
Inside the Carbon Cult
Foreword Kevin D. Williamson has a pretty good claim to being the best columnist in the United States right now. I don’t say that lightly.
News Release
Biden Veto Means ESG Investment Rule Means Politicized Investing for Pensions
President Biden today vetoed a resolution passed by Congress that would have stopped a Labor Department rule on ESG investing. Specifically, the rule, “Prudence and…
Bloomberg Law
“FTC Lawyers Leave at Fastest Rate in Years as Khan Sets New Tone”
Bloomberg Law reports on new data showing that FTC lawyers are leaving the agency at the highest rate since 2000 under Chair Lina Khan’s leadership.
Blog
Legislation Introduced to Curb Federal Forfeiture
Earlier this month, Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) reintroduced the Fifth Amendment Restoration Act (FAIR) Act. This measure is aimed at curbing federal forfeiture…
Blog
FTC Budget Request: More Money, More Staff, and More Problems
Instead of increasing the FTC’s budget, Congress should increase oversight of an agency gone rogue. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted its annual budget…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Silicon Valley Bank’s failure was the confluence of bad management and bad regulations. It could also complicate the Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts. Meanwhile, agencies…
Blog
When the Policy is This Bad, Politics Might Be the Only Explanation
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently proposed a tech agenda as his “Digital Bill of Rights” for the state’ blessedly short 60-day legislative session. While there…
Blog
Senators Should Reject WOTUS Overreach
The Senate is soon expected to consider legislation that would reject the Biden administration’s final rule defining “Waters of the United States,” otherwise…
Comment
CEI Comments on FCC’s Preventing Digital Discrimination Noticed of Proposed Rulemaking
Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20024 Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute In the Matter of))Federal Communications Commission)FCC-22-98)GN Docket No. 22-69)Preventing Digital…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 12: Consumer Welfare and Big Government with Patrick Hedger
This week we talk about the drama with Silicon Valley Bank and the proposal from Wayne Crews for an Abuse-of-Crisis Prevention Act, how…
Blog
Congress, Please Reform the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
My Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) colleague Devin Watkins recently testified on Capitol Hill before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary…
City Journal
Politically Correct Medical Scholarship Doesn’t Help Blacks
A recent article in the British Medical Journal, “Inequities in surgical outcomes by race and sex in the United States,” is important—not…
Inside Sources
East Palestine Derailment Reveals a Lot of What Is Wrong With Our Politics
The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous material in East Palestine, Ohio, is a social and environmental disaster that can potentially ruin lives…
News Release
Senator Ron Johnson and 15 GOP Colleagues Introduce Guidance Out of Darkness Act in 118th Congress
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act this week, a bill aimed at bringing transparency to agency guidance documents…
Blog
CEI Advises CEQ to Withdraw Its NEPA Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change
Last week I submitted comments advising the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to withdraw its proposed guidance on consideration of greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Blog
The Risks of Bailing Out Silicon Valley Bank’s Uninsured Depositors and How to Make the Banking System Resilient
On Sunday evening, the Biden administration decided that all customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank will have their millions and possibly billions in the…
Forbes
Laws Against Laws: A 118th Congress Regulatory Reform Agenda For Rightsizing Washington
It’s all right to be little-bitty. — Alan Jackson, “Little Bitty,” Everything I Love, 1996 It ought to be harder to enact bad laws and regulations…
Blog
Why Congress Must Think Twice About Adopting Biden’s Brazen Budget Proposal
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden finally unveiled his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year 2024. This marks the third straight year that Biden…
Truth on the Market
“Is the FTC Threatening Efficient Franchise Relationships?”
Alden Abbott, former general counsel for the FTC, discusses the value of franchise agreements in light of the FTC’s March 10th request for information.
News Release
CEI Economist: Inflation Remains High, Fed should Keep Raising Rates
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amounting to an annual inflation rate of…
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…
News Release
Biden Administration Approves Oil Exploration Project in Alaska, but Larger Restrictions Promised Soon
According to reports, the Biden Administration is prepared to approve an oil exploration project in northern Alaska. The administration is said to be pairing…
News Release
Congress Shouldn’t Compound Silicon Valley Bank Collapse with Bailouts and Bad Ideas
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has spurred some terrible policymaking ideas in Congress, exacerbating bad decisions by the bank that has led to its collapse.
Inside Sources
‘Right to Repair’ Bills Aim to Fix Repair Market but Would More Likely Break It
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.
Fox News
5 ways Biden is still coming for your gas stove
Who knew President Joe Biden hated gas stoves so much? Not only does he have multiple federal agencies targeting them, but he is also going…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing Railway Safety Act of 2023
We write you to urge your opposition to the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Introduced following the horrible accident in East Palestine, Ohio, the legislation…
Bloomberg
Biden Vows to Hold Banks Accountable, Urges Stronger Rules (2)
John Berlau, director of finance policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said “prudent banks suffering the fallout from SVB should not…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
President Biden released a $6.8 trillion proposed budget. The labor force grew by 311,000 people in February. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
City Journal
“E” Doesn’t Stand for Environment
The Securities and Exchange Commission is nearing a decision on a proposed rule that would require publicly traded companies to indicate how their investments affect…
Comment
Comments to the Council on Environmental Quality, Proposed Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidance on consideration greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Blog
What Are Administrative Law Courts? Why Do They Matter?
The judicial branch is presumably an independent branch of government, alongside the legislative and executive branches. But many regulatory agencies have their own in-house court…
Blog
Regulatory Reform in the 118th Congress: The ALERT Act
Transparency is a vital part of good government. It is also lacking in the regulatory process. H.R. 262, The All Economic Regulations are Transparent…
News Release
Economy Adds 311,000 Jobs in February 2023 – Good News
The U.S. economy added 311,000 jobs in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than expected by experts. Competitive Enterprise Institute…
National Review
Vetoing Financial Security
Wall Street Journal
“Josh Hawley, Meet Lina Khan’s FTC”
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board addresses the FTC’s requests to Twitter for communication with journalists and Sen. Hawley’s proposal to grant more power to…
News Release
Biden Budget Amounts to Top-Down Central Planning, Lacks Needed Reforms
President Biden today unveiled his latest budget submitted to Congress. CEI experts take a dim view of the agenda of excess spending and regulation…
Blog
The War On Natural Gas – Pipeline Edition
The Biden Administration’s climate change-inspired war on natural gas continues on multiple fronts. Most recently in the news are the regulatory attempts to curtail the use…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 11: True Diversity and Economic Opportunity with Patrice Onwuka
This week we talk about a warning from Wayne Crews and The Wall Street Journal on the burden of over-regulation, the policy…