Blog
Free Speech Week: The speech that ignited a revolution — and still speaks to us today
A Richmond story, a Virginia legacy, and the American ethos Richmond is my home city. My family has lived in Virginia for generations,…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Mackerel and helicopters
The continuing shutdown made for another slow week in the Federal Register. The four-day week’s total of five proposed regulations, six proposed regulations, and…
Comment
CEI Comments on the FTC’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026–2030: Supporting Balanced Enforcement, Evidence-Based Policymaking, and Regulatory Predictability
[Author’s correction: This comment incorrectly stated that the Federal Trade Commission’s Draft Strategic Plan for FY 2026-2030 failed to comply with the Foundations for…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Energy diversity and abundance with Stephen Perkins
In this week’s episode we talk about the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics, eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, why we…
Letters
CEI joins coalition Letter against caps on stablecoin rewards
RE: Coalition in Support of Preserving Consumer Rewards and Competition in Digital Asset Legislation Dear Chairmen Scott and Boozman, Ranking Members Warren and…
Blog
Report highlights the environmental costs of wind and solar
A Center of the American Experiment report, authored by Sarah Montalbano, explores the environmental costs of wind, solar, and battery storage technologies. These…
Comment
CEI Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Personal Protective Equipment, Medical Consumables, and Medical Equipment, Including Devices
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Dear Deputy Assistant Secretary Khersonsky, The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submits these comments in opposition to…
Blog
A Nobel for human progress
This year’s economics Nobel Prize went to three students of the two most important questions in economics: Why have living standards in rich countries…
Blog
Katie Porter’s exchange with CFPB’s Kraninger revisited amid new revelations
A recently surfaced clip of former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has sparked a firestorm online. In a newly revealed 2021 video revealed published…
Independent Institute
Report Highlights the Environmental Costs of Wind and Solar
A Center of the American Experiment, authored by Sarah Montalbano, explores the environmental costs of wind, solar, and battery storage technologies. These “green” technologies…
Blog
The hidden growth of government in an age of less red tape
Recent editions of Ten Thousand Commandments detail how regulatory red tape mushroomed under Biden. For vulnerable small business, the Small Business &…
The Daily Signal
Is a Leftist-Created Corner of the Bureaucracy Defying the Government Shutdown?
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on the CFPB Despite limits, with Vought at the helm, the CFPB has been headed in a…
Forbes
Small Business Regulation Is Cratering – Here’s The Hidden Catch
But during the Biden administration, red tape proliferated. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council noted, for example, the toll from credit…
Blog
Senate’s turn to pass the Fix Our Forests Act
It’s not often that legislation has as much bipartisan support as H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) does. On January…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Pot gear and hot air fuel
Venezuelan democracy activist Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize. The partial federal shutdown meant there were no proposed regulations and five new…
Blog
The problem with Obamacare is Obamacare
This year, the COVID-induced expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expire. Extending the expanded subsidies has become a point of contention between…
Blog
Impasse over NLRB nominee may be just what unions want
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee yesterday approved one of President Trump’s nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR in Urging Commerce to Reject Patent Tax Proposal Undermining OBBBA Success
Dear Secretary Lutnick: The undersigned organizations represent millions of Americans for whom efforts alongside the Trump administration on the One Big Beautiful Bill…
DC Journal
Counterpoint: Single-Use Plastic Bans Make No Sense
Nobody wants plastic pollution. That doesn’t mean poorly considered and heavy-handed governmental actions are the solution. This includes misguided single-use plastic bans (e.g., bans…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Celebrating human achievement with Ed Hudgins
In this week’s episode we talk about the need to build more infrastructure in the UK, an award for public finance…
Letters
CEI joins a coalition in Protecting Consumer Data: Why the CFPB Must Abandon Biden’s Flawed Open Banking Rule
Dear Acting Director Vought: We commend the bureau for acknowledging the flaws in the Personal Financial Data Rights rule promulgated under the Biden…
The American Spectator
Trump Topples the Regulatory Tower
The American Spectator cited CEI’s 10kc The federal government collected $4.9 trillion in taxes in 2024. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, founded by the late Fred Smith, calculates that…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition with Center for Individual Freedom in Strong Support of Charter–Cox Merger to Advance Free-Market Innovation and Consumer Benefits
Dear Secretary Dortch: The undersigned organizations submit this letter to the Federal Communications Commission (hereinafter FCC) in support of the proposed combination of…
National Review
Time to Spring Trump’s Tariff Trap
H.L. Mencken, the Sage of Baltimore, grounded American democracy in the notion that the “common people know what they want and deserve to get it good…
Trib Live
‘We’re stretching’: As grocery prices continue to climb, shoppers redefine their staples
Trib Live cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs “Tomatoes from Mexico are being hit with a 17% tariff,” Ortega said. “In the cold…
Civitas Institute
The First Amendment Vise
It’s been a rough ride for freedom of speech lately. The reads, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom…
Blog
The week in regulations: Poultry improvement and painful scars
The federal government shut down on Wednesday. Thursday’s Federal Register had 60 final regulations; normal is about 10. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew in…
Blog
EPA proposed rule cools down costly air conditioner regulation
The Biden administration inflicted many bad appliance regulations on homeowners, but the costliest of them all was an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Social Security with Romina Boccia
In this week’s episode we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via…
Blog
Next BLS head needs be an innovator, not a loyalist
President Trump nominated E.J. Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) because he wanted someone to modernize and update the agency’s…
Forbes
Turn Shutdown Theater Into A Slim-Down: Cut Spending And Regulation At Once
Looming federal government shutdowns should be treated as opportunities to cut both spending and regulation. So as we barrel toward a…
Blog
Shutdown? Take the win
Last-ditch negotiations are underway as another fiscal year comes to a close on October 1. It’s that familiar crossroads: a threatened shutdown if…
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Sues Zillow, Redfin Alleging They Suppress Rental Advertising Competition”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s recent antitrust suit against Zillow and Redfin.
News Release
Report: Pharmaceutical tariffs will upend prices, supply
A new CEI report takes a close look at the complex, worldwide pharmaceutical supply chain to anticipate how forthcoming Trump tariffs might increase prices…
Study
I, Pharmaceutical
The global pharmaceutical industry is complex. This is true not only in the number of countries involved but the range of products, the sets…
Blog
National Public Lands Day shines light on reasonable entrance fees
September 27 was National Public Lands Day. To celebrate, the National Park Service (NPS) advertised free admission to national parks that…
Citation
Unknowns cloud economy’s future despite return to growth and rate cut
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on tariffs “Both consumers and businesses in a rush to beat tariffs have been stockpiling as…
Blog
The week in regulations: Airplane seats and Irish potatoes
President Trump signed an executive order to effectively end the H-1B visa category for high-skilled immigrants. He also raised tariffs on pharmaceuticals, argued without…
Truth on the Market
“The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Amazon”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the FTC’s $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon.
Truth on the Market
“Antitrust at the Agencies: Happy New Year 5786 Edition”
Dan Gilman provides an initial read on how the FTC is considering issues involving AI and privacy.
Blog
New tariffs for pharmaceuticals, furniture, and trucks
On the night of September 25, after markets closed, the Trump administration announced on social media that a new bevy of tariffs will…
Blog
The White House’s new visa fee is another tariff
President Trump’s announcement that H1-B visas will now require a payment of $100,000 is best understood as an extension of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Emergent abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics,…
Blog
HSR hibernation: Will the FTC PNO see its shadow during government shutdown?
It’s time for DC to find a real groundhog that can assist in determining if the government will shut down to replace the…
Blog
Trump 401(k) EO helps equalize access to alternative assets
For more than a decade at CEI, I have argued that holders of 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans should have maximum choice in the…
Blog
Conservative radio and the risks of FCC pressure on broadcast licensees
Conservative radio is one of the most potent forces in American politics. It emerged from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deregulation that fostered free speech…
Blog
Is regulation killing American innovation?
The federal government micromanages American businesses and citizens through excessive and costly regulations. These rules stifle innovation, limit competitiveness, and hinder job creation, while…
Comment
CEI comments on the Justice Department and National Economic Council’s Request for Information Regarding State Laws with Extraterritorial Economic Impacts OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169
News Release
Trump’s views on Tylenol shouldn’t supersede doctor advice
President Trump railed against Tylenol (acetaminophen) in a press conference this week, imploring, in particular, pregnant women and babies to not take (or be…
The Hill
The Movement: Erika Kirk, Trump showcase clashing messages about conservativism’s soul
The Hill cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner The regulatory-reform-focused Competitive Enterprise Institute’s president, Kent Lassman, made a pointed joke about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at its…
Blog
A provisional look at the Trump 2.0 deregulation record
Early in his first term, Donald Trump ordered agencies to eliminate at least two rules for every “significant” one added – rules generally carrying…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA Proposed Rule “Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards”
Dear Mr. Stout: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
News Release
Affordable transportation should be celebrated over “World Car-Free Day”
September 22 is associated with “World Car-Free Day”, an occasion aimed at prodding people to find alternative ways to travel around that day. CEI…
SCOTUSblog
“Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire FTC Commissioner”
Amy Howe with SCOTUSblog provides the latest on the firing of Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
Citation
Playbook PM: The shutdown countdown begins
Politico cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner. The Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted its annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner at the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Sausage colors and patriotic education
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened to prosecute hate speech. ABC pulled late night host Jimmy Kimmel off the…
Fox Business
Social media giants scramble to control Charlie Kirk assassination videos after Utah shooting
The Daily Economy
Why the Old Left–Right Divide No Longer Works
A century ago, Michael Oakeshott, Britain’s great skeptic of politics, a grand project, diagnosed a sickness that now afflicts every Western democracy: the confusion…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Empowering patients with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices…
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Sues Ticketmaster Alleging Illegal Ticket Resale Tactics”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s suit against Ticketmaster.
Blog
California’s climate disclosure laws will devastate interstate commerce
This week, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I submitted a public comment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) notice for…
News Release
Fed independence is the real story in Wednesday’s interest rate decision: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it is cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the first cut in nine months. CEI senior economist…
Blog
Progressive states plan end run around federal labor law
The five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency, is currently down to just one member and therefore…
Blog
GOOD Act markup: The first step in illuminating regulatory dark matter
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) is soon expected to mark up the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act, an important…
The Washington Post
The wine industry doesn’t work the way Washington thinks it does
Owning a vineyard in Napa Valley sounds fancy, but the wine business is, in reality, pretty gritty: It is a low-margin agricultural and food-processing…
Comment
CEI is in Support of the GOOD Act: Bringing Federal Guidance Out of the Shadows
Dear Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, We write to you today ahead of markup of the Guidance…
Blog
Some minimum requirements for a proper WOTUS rule
In the coming weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers are expected to release a proposed rule defining…
Blog
House subcommittee to discuss important Clean Air Act bills
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment will be holding a hearing today entitled “From Gridlock to Growth: Permitting Reform Under…
News Release
Trump’s call to end corporate quarterly reporting mandates would boost competitiveness, end onerous regulation
President Trump today used a social media post to call on the SEC to end quarterly reporting mandates for publicly traded companies and instead…
Comment
CEI’S Request for Federal Intervention on State Climate Disclosure Laws That Adversely Affect Interstate Commerce and Violate Constitutional Limits
Request for Information on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Significant Adverse Effects on Interstate Commerce Dear Mr. Schilling,…
Blog
The week in regulations: Date taxes and manifest mailing
Political commentator Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at an event. While the Producer Price Index went down in August, the Consumer Price Index…
National Law Review
“Rule Abandoned, Crackdown Continues: The Federal Trade Commission’s New Non-compete Strategy”
Attorneys with Squire Patton Boggs LLP discuss the FTC’s new strategy on employee non-compete agreements.
News Release
Inflation increased 0.4 percent in August, all eyes on the Fed’s next move: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for August showed a 0.4 percent increase in inflation across all sectors. With Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs being…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs and economic freedom with Matt Mitchell
In this week’s episode we cover the latest jobs numbers, the emergent community of abundance fans, the limits to taxing…
Letters
CEI partners with AFP & Urges Congress to Modernize Labor Laws with Pro-Worker Employee Rights Act
Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of the following organizations, we ask for your full support and co-sponsorship of H.R. 4154, the Employee…
Blog
Trump’s Intel stake and the Peronist precedent of Obama’s auto bailouts
President Trump’s decision to take a 10-percent ownership stake in chipmaker Intel has been described by many commentators as “socialism.” Others…
Blog
Putting an end to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The immortality of federal programs no longer seems to be a certainty. A particularly welcome instance of a federal program drawing to a close…
Testimony
CEI’s Ben Lieberman testifies on Reforming Appliance Efficiency Standards: Restoring Consumer Choice and Ending Regulatory Overreach
I. Summary The Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards program is decades old, and most major home appliances have been subjected to multiple rounds of…
News Release
New downward revision for jobs numbers not surprising: CEI analysis
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that there were 911,000 fewer jobs between March 2024 and March 2025 than previously reported. While…
Letters
CEI Joins CFIF in Coalition Letter Urging FCC to Preserve Free Market in Broadcast Negotiations
Dear Chairman Carr: We, the undersigned conservative, free-market and pro-innovation organizations, write in support of your efforts to reduce government regulation and involvement…
Letters
CEI joins coalition with TPA in Opposition to Increasing FDIC Deposit Insurance Limits
Dear Chairs Scott and Hill, and Ranking Members Warren and Waters, We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers nationwide, write…
News Release
Report urges ending the unauthorized Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report supporting the dismantling of a legally dubious office within the U.S. Department of Labor: the Office…
Study
‘Contradictory to Our Country’s Laws’
Introduction In the first days of the second Trump administration, elusive aspirations of confining agencies of the federal government to their legitimate functions suddenly…
Comment
CEI’s comment on FLRA’s Proposed AFCA Regulations: Constitutional Concerns and the Right to a Jury Trial
Dear Mr. Tso: The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has proposed procedural regulations for the Administrative False Claims Act (AFCA). Implementation of the…
Blog
Trump’s Unified Agenda of deconstruction: Writing rules to erase rules
“It is the policy of my Administration to focus the executive branch’s limited enforcement resources on regulations squarely authorized…
Blog
The week in regulations: Coachella air quality and yogurt vitamins
The Federal Register, which tracks daily regulatory activity, has become less transparent. Jobs numbers for August were disappointing and actually shrank in June…
Forbes
Diary Of Deconstruction: Trump Releases Unified Agenda Of Federal Regulations
As the leaves begin to fall, the Trump administration has at last released Spring 2025 edition of the semiannual “Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory…
Politico
How AI could fuel a boom in carbon capture
Politico cited CEI’s expert on temporary regulations “Many of the ‘rules’ that have been issued under Trump aren’t new mandates at all, but…
Comment
CEI’s comment on Proposed Revisions to Section 503 Regulations and Enforcement Procedures to Align with APA and Executive Order 14173
Re: Comment on Modifications to the Regulations Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended Docket OFCCP-2025-0003 Dear Director…
Comment
CEI’s comment on Proposed Reforms to VEVRAA Regulations and Enforcement Procedures in Light of Constitutional and Administrative Law Concerns
Re: Comment on Modifications to the Regulations Implementing the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as Amended Docket OFCCP-2025-0002…
Comment
CEI’s comment in Support of Rescission of EO 11246 Regulations and Reduction of OFCCP Authority
Re: Comment on Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations Docket OFCCP-2025-0001 Dear Director Eschbach: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
August adds 22,000 jobs, June and July numbers revised downward: CEI analysis
The jobs report for August shows a meager gain of 22,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate remaining…
Blog
Tariffs are taxes and must be legislatively accountable
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has delivered a decisive rebuke to the new presidential reciprocal and trafficking tariffs. It ruled that a…
Blog
The beginning of the end for net-zero financial alliances
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the world’s premier financial institutions formed bold climate finance coalitions. The most notable of these…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Clear-but-false ideas with Kevin Williamson
In this week’s episode we cover the Trump tariffs being struck down, Biden’s competition order being vacated, and new research on…
Testimony
CEI’s Jessica Melugin speaks on The U.K.’s Online Safety Act
Chair Jordan, ranking member Raskin, and distinguished members of the House Judiciary Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony to this…
Blog
Messy merger math and the congressional fix
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has offered a glimpse into premerger enforcement activities over the past six months. In February 2025, the new…
Real Clear Markets
“Pharmacy Benefit Managers Aren’t the High-Prices Drug Problem”
Agustin Forzani writes that the FTC is misdiagnosing the problem by targeting PBMs.
News Release
Google Ruling Rightly Rejects Most DOJ Demands, But Appeals Still Warranted
A federal court largely rejected DOJ efforts to break up Google, declining to spin off its Chrome browser or impose sweeping payment bans. But…
News Release
Federal court strikes down President Trump’s emergency tariffs: CEI analysis
On Friday, a federal court struck down President Trump’s emergency rationale for enacting worldwide tariffs. CEI senior economist Ryan Young applauds the court’s…
