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Congress should deregulate if it will not tackle entitlement spending
The Senate is currently reviewing the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill in an effort to have President Trump sign the bill into…
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Trump, Congress overturn California’s gas-car ban
President Trump today signed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval to overturn Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers greenlighting California’s plans…
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UN report says tree planting can result in more greenhouse gas emissions
It is common knowledge that trees act as carbon sinks. Through the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen that we…
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New nuclear executive orders come at a time when power demand is rising
On Friday, May 23, President Trump signed four executive orders related to nuclear power. These lay the groundwork for reforming nuclear regulation and enabling nuclear power…
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AI boom power surge: Plants revived, fossil fuels reconsidered
Rising power demand is causing retired power plants to be reopened and repurposed. Power demand in the United States was relatively stagnant for many years,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Drug costs and benefits with Sally Pipes
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The MAHA Report is a missed opportunity
Less than six months into the new administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has produced its Make Our Children Healthy Again…
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Your family’s share of federal red tape last year was…
Most people can see taxes on their pay stubs, but there’s another sort of tax that’s much less visible: the cost of government regulations. These…
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Matt Ridley’s wisdom on trust and trade
In 1834, Charles Darwin encountered a group of natives in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. Although both parties were unable…
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Africa (and America) need free trade and deregulation, not generosity
Here is a letter I recently wrote to the Wall Street Journal. Africa (and America) need Free Trade and Deregulation, not…
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Good things happen when spectrum is allocated to the marketplace
There has been recent legislative activity on spectrum allocation, so it is a good time to remind ourselves why moving as much spectrum as…
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Trump’s newborn nest egg accounts
In the face of recurring economic shocks—we’ve suffered 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 in the 21st century alone—the reflex to throw hundreds of…
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The broken window fallacy: America doesn’t know what it pays for
If a kid breaks a shopkeeper’s window and a glazier fixes it, is the economy better off? It has created work for the glazier, so…
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The week in regulations: Paper packaging promotion and bridge conditions
President Trump ordered National Guard troops to deploy against American citizens. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from hot air balloons to authorizing ski areas. On…
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Congress should codify the National Listing Workplan
In the 15 years after the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973, it was repeatedly amended. Congress passed major amendments that updated…
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Chapter and verse: The case against mandatory ESG standards
This week De Gruyter Brill published the book ESG Investing: Current Theory and Practice, edited by John Hill of Fairfield University’s Dolan School…
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CBO likely overestimates effects of Medicaid reforms
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimates of the costs, both financial and in coverage, of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act…
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Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs and corruption with Justin Callais
In this week’s episode we cover Autumn Billings on donor privacy, Wayne Crews on the DOGE legacy, and Joey Politano on the…
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The total cost of federal red tape last year was…
$2.15 trillion is CEI’s latest estimate of the costs of all federal regulations. It is an intentionally conservative estimate. Think of it as a floor,…
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Two courts, one message: Tariffs need congressional backing
Within the last few days, two courts have enjoined President Trump’s tariffs under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) finding them unlawful. First, the US…
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Don’t socialize health care through private insurance
Four senators have introduced the “Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act,” which would mandate full coverage, no copays, no out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries…
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Clearing the tracks: CEI’s three-point blueprint to DOT deregulation
Background The Trump administration has made good on some of its promises of deregulation – namely with two executive orders from the beginning of this…
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Senate should reject lobbyist sales pitches for alternative energy subsidies
Lobbyists for the companies hoping to cash in on the many alternative energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are crying foul now…
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CEI’s The Surge: Expert testimony, Spanish blackout, and 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 and…
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DOGE after Musk: From meme to momentum
Elon Musk’s short but headline-grabbing stint with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has concluded, but the broader deregulatory agenda remains robust and far from…
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The week in regulations: Low-moisture human foods and grass promotion
Lots of transportation-related regulatory cleanup this week. Friday alone had 47 proposed rules, most of them to repeal obsolete regulations. Two courts struck down Trump’s…
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Medicaid cost explosion
Over the past five years, Medicaid has defied all expectations and projections. It is the third largest program that the government administers, and it has…
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Life is made of trade
If I hadn’t become an economist, I might have found happiness as an evolutionary biologist. The two ways of thinking have a lot in common.
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How IAIS advances DEI policies
As explained in an earlier blog post, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has drifted away from its mission and is actively working…
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Big Beautiful Bill threatens the Costco of health care
You’ve probably never wondered why you buy peanut butter from the grocery store instead of directly from the J.M. Smucker Company or your TV from…
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Eight energy policies that reduce competition and increase energy prices
The US Department of Justice’s Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force was accepting comments from the public in part “seeking information about laws and regulations that…
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Congress needs to do more to address the IRA energy tax credits
Many of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit reforms that exist in the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act comes…
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For the sake of user privacy, keep Google search remedies narrow and germane
The movement in the Biden and Trump administrations of antitrust officials away from consumer welfare and towards a federal judiciary of active regulation is on…
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Free the Economy podcast: Protecting consumer credit with Caroline Melear
In this week’s episode we cover new research on trade and tariffs, how to understand market forces, and good news for…
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Deregulation deferred—not defeated—by the Big Beautiful Bill
In my latest Forbes column, I detail how the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) had the potential to revolutionize federal regulatory policy. But…
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Spanish blackout should serve as a warning
If policymakers don’t want Americans to find themselves in the dark, then they should pay attention to the harmful electricity policies in Spain. Spain experienced…
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New CEI paper: How to break the trade blockade
Today is release day for a new CEI paper by Kent Lassman, Iain Murray, and me, Trade Under Blockade: Navigating a Global Trade War.
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The week in regulations: Postage prices and outdoor burning
Former President Joe Biden announced a cancer diagnosis. The House passed a big spending bill. A political activist murdered a young Jewish couple. Agencies issued…
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Senate pulls plug on California’s gas car ban
The US Senate on Thursday voted 51-46 for H.J. Res.88, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the Environmental Protection…
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The flaw in Justice Kagan’s defense of the NLRB
Justice Elana Kagan authored a lengthy dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday granting the Trump administration’s request to keep the Gwynne Wilcox,…
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Free the Economy podcast: Next steps for nuclear with Deric Tilson
In this week’s episode we cover Jamie Dimon on tariff jitters, the Tax Foundation on the One Big Beautiful Bill, Jesse Walker…
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Tariffs and the anchor heuristic
It feels like President Trump is cutting tariffs. He has agreed to tariff deals with China and the UK, and he paused his biggest Liberation…
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CEI’s The Surge: CRA resolutions, IRA reform, and 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 and…
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The week in regulations: Flight safety and organic pet food
Qatar’s government gave Trump a $400 million jumbo jet that he can use after leaving office. The US and China agreed to lower their tariffs…
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States can keep Medicaid whole if they want
Congress is considering slowing Medicaid growth over the next 10 years enough to reduce federal spending by $625 billion. Many Republicans argue that the…
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CEI sends letter to Senate regarding California waiver CRA resolutions
The US Senate has a unique opportunity to overturn what may well be the most egregious case of unlawful bureaucratic overreach of the past 50…
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Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Medicaid with Brian Blase
In a recent episode we cover biofuels and farm tariffs, the decline in green investing, and the effort to stop state governments…
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Record tariff revenue is no match for record spending
Tariffs raised a record $16.3 billion of tax revenue in April, according to the Wall Street Journal. Averaged out over a whole year, this…
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A light in the darkness: Federal preemption for AI regulation
The joy of federal preemption may soon be upon us. The House Energy and Commerce Committee included a ten-year moratorium on state AI regulation…
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GOP proposal includes reductions in health care expenditures
Over the weekend the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released a proposal describing how it would achieve the expenditure goals for the Reconciliation…