![Net Neutrality Regulation Still a Bad Idea](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/nn-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Net Neutrality Regulation Still a Bad Idea
The debate at today’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing was largely between making blocking, throttling, and fast lanes illegal and going further to…
![VIDEO: Operation Choke Point Sets Dangerous Precedent](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/chokepoint-578x324-c-default.png)
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VIDEO: Operation Choke Point Sets Dangerous Precedent
Our friends at the Federalist Society have an interesting new video out on legal businesses being targeted for government harassment because their products have become politically…
![Amazon under Pressure to Accept Union](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/employee-801829_960_720-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Amazon under Pressure to Accept Union
This week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Amazon employees should unionize, and that the company should welcome losing a direct line of…
![House Climate Hearing off to Bad Start](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/eandc_1157x640-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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House Climate Hearing off to Bad Start
The newly-minted environment and climate change subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing today titled “Time for Action: Addressing the Environmental…
![Administrative Procedure Act Limitations: Process and Oversight Shortcomings](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Red-Tape-ThinkstockPhotos-535352001_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Administrative Procedure Act Limitations: Process and Oversight Shortcomings
The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (APA) set up the foundation of the public consultation rulemaking procedure. Part one of this two-part glance at APA…
![Fintech: A Bipartisan Priority for the 116th Congress](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Give-money-thinkstock-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Fintech: A Bipartisan Priority for the 116th Congress
While the 115th Congress did not achieve all that was hoped for with regards to financial services reform, it did make important progress to achieving…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/light-bulb-3-pixabay-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The Midwest froze, but the Federal Register began to heat up. As I predicted earlier, the first three post-shutdown editions were slow. Then Thursday’s edition…
![EPA’s Andrew Wheeler Appoints John Christy to Science Advisory Board](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/wheeler1-578x324-c-default.png)
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EPA’s Andrew Wheeler Appoints John Christy to Science Advisory Board
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler on January 31st announced the appointment of some 29 experts to serve on the agency’s Science Advisory Board…
![Plastic Bag Ban Mania Will Do More Harm than Good](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bags_plastic-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Plastic Bag Ban Mania Will Do More Harm than Good
An anti-plastics craze has swept the country and the globe, prompting lawmakers to propose and impose bans on various plastic products—from straws to shopping bags…
![VIDEO: Thanos Was Wrong about Humanity](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/thanos-578x324-c-default.png)
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VIDEO: Thanos Was Wrong about Humanity
Our friends at the American Enterprise Institute have a great video series in which they explain important issues, each in only 60 seconds. A very-short format like this…
![Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Soda Labeling Ban for Wrong Reasons](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ThinkstockPhotos-181397947_soda-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Soda Labeling Ban for Wrong Reasons
This week the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held unconstitutional the size requirement in San Francisco’s soda warning labeling regulation. However, there are broader…
![Jobs Numbers Continue Generally Positive Trend](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/employees_ThinkstockPhotos-512165336_6-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Jobs Numbers Continue Generally Positive Trend
The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that the economy is continuing on a steady course, at least as far as…
![The Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/trade-578x324-c-default.png)
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The Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act
This week Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduced the Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act, which would reduce the president’s authority to unilaterally enact new tariffs by…
![Rep. Waters Reiterates Support for JOBS Act 3.0](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/bankline_cr_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Rep. Waters Reiterates Support for JOBS Act 3.0
In a major speech to a liberal group outlining her priorities as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) sharply criticized…
![A Brief Outline of Undisclosed Costs of Regulation](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Red-Tape-Regulation_0_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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A Brief Outline of Undisclosed Costs of Regulation
In my recent Forbes column “Rule of Flaw and the Costs of Coercion: Charting Undisclosed Burdens of the Administrative State,” I discussed checks on the…
![Administrative Procedure Act Limitations: Cost Measurement and Disclosure](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ThinkstockPhotos-521304774-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Administrative Procedure Act Limitations: Cost Measurement and Disclosure
U.S. Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III noted in a 2017 journal article that regulation sometimes contains “too much detail,” changes too “frequently and capriciously,” creates backlogs and…
![The Shutdown Is Over: How Does that Affect Regulation?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/paperwork_ThinkstockPhotos-57571085-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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The Shutdown Is Over: How Does that Affect Regulation?
During the partial shutdown, the Federal Register slowed to a crawl. Published every weekday, an average day’s edition consists of about 270 pages and contains…
![Forecast: U.S. to Become Net Energy Exporter in 2020](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-509843570-smaller_2-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Forecast: U.S. to Become Net Energy Exporter in 2020
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects the United States to become a net energy exporter in 2020. That is the “reference case” projection in…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Tech and Telecom](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-613749406_2-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Tech and Telecom
As technology and telecommunications evolve, new challenges inevitably arise for policy makers. New mandates or prohibitions should be avoided in all but the most exceptional…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/airtrafficcontrol_ThinkstockPhotos-505695890_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The partial shutdown ended on Friday, though only on a three-week deal. This likely will not show up in the Federal Register’s page and rule…
![Chuck Todd’s ‘Daily Show’ Comments Got It Wrong on the Climate Debate](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/chuck-todd-578x324-c-default.png)
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Chuck Todd’s ‘Daily Show’ Comments Got It Wrong on the Climate Debate
Last night Chuck Todd went on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and was asked about his announcement on a recent episode of “Meet the…
![Warren Wealth Tax Proposal Raises Constitutional Questions](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/money--578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Warren Wealth Tax Proposal Raises Constitutional Questions
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has proposed a new wealth tax. We don’t know a lot of details on what is being proposed, but what little…
![VIDEO: Pacific Legal Foundation Stands up for Freedom of Falconry](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/plf_falcon_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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VIDEO: Pacific Legal Foundation Stands up for Freedom of Falconry
Falconry has a long and noble heritage. During most of that time, however, it has been heavily regulated. In Medieval England, for example, only people…
![New Cable Franchise Rules to Benefit Consumers](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ThinkstockPhotos-492681611_1-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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New Cable Franchise Rules to Benefit Consumers
In September of last year, the Federal Communications Commission issued a further notice of proposed rulemaking clarifying how the amount that cities are allowed to…
![Oregon Introduces Taxpayer-Funded Union Subsidy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/lecturehall_ThinkstockPhotos-479706175_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Oregon Introduces Taxpayer-Funded Union Subsidy
Earlier this week, I took a look at legislation that has been enacted to undercut the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Janus v. AFSCME.
![CEI Leads Coalition in Support of Nationwide Road Usage Charge Pilot Program](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/highway-1_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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CEI Leads Coalition in Support of Nationwide Road Usage Charge Pilot Program
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a letter to Congress urging members to preserve and strengthen the users-pay/users-benefit highway funding principle and to establish a…
![Courts Should Protect Economic Liberty Rights As Originally Understood](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ThinkstockPhotos-178714734_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Courts Should Protect Economic Liberty Rights As Originally Understood
The prohibition on taking a person’s liberty without due process of law is enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. But what does this…
![What If Trump’s Regulations Exceed His Regulatory Rollback Savings?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Red-Tape-Regulation_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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What If Trump’s Regulations Exceed His Regulatory Rollback Savings?
President Donald Trump has pruned rules and costs at a quicker pace than other presidents. But could his other policies torpedo that?…
![Would a TSA Strike Force an End to the Shutdown?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/airport-1515434_960_720-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Would a TSA Strike Force an End to the Shutdown?
As the current partial federal government shutdown drags on and many federal employees continue to go without pay, some pundits have suggested that one way…
![In Aftermath of ‘Janus’ Decision, Blue States Push Pro-Union Bills](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ThinkstockPhotos-179318921_3-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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In Aftermath of ‘Janus’ Decision, Blue States Push Pro-Union Bills
Prior to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, government unions were already devising ways to keep members and dues flowing. In a…
![EPA’s Wheeler Responds to Renewable Fuel Standard Questions](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Congress-Think-stock_5-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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EPA’s Wheeler Responds to Renewable Fuel Standard Questions
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held its confirmation hearing for acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler on January 16th. The Renewable Fuel…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/china_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Last week, people got worked up over hamburgers and a television commercial about razors. Meanwhile the partial federal shutdown continued, and a bill to introduce…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Banking and Finance](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_6-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Banking and Finance
Perhaps one of the most under-appreciated aspects of our modern world is the fact that finance is fundamental to the operation of a free and…
![VIDEO: Lower Shipping Costs, Repeal the Jones Act](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/102519844-china-shipping-line.530x298-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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VIDEO: Lower Shipping Costs, Repeal the Jones Act
The Jones Act, originally passed in 1920, is a law that requires ships that service U.S. ports to be entirely U.S. owned and operated. This…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Trade](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_5-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Trade
President Trump’s doubling of tariffs has already cost the economy almost 1.8 percentage points of growth. That means 2018’s 3.4 percent third quarter growth could…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Energy and Environment](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_4-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Energy and Environment
Wealthier is healthier—and environmentally cleaner as well. Despite the fact that the most prosperous nations are also the cleanest, and that prosperity is best achieved…
![Brexit: The EU’s Gordian Knot Strangles May’s Government](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/brexitcover_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Brexit: The EU’s Gordian Knot Strangles May’s Government
When Rory Broomfield and I were examining the prospects for Britain leaving the European Union in 2014-16, we recognized that there was no easy way…
![Department of Justice Disregards Intent of Congress on Internet Gambling](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sports-gambling_1-578x324-c-default.png)
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Department of Justice Disregards Intent of Congress on Internet Gambling
Congress was not vague in its intent when it enacted the Wire Act in 1961. The law, developed and supported by then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy,…
![Supreme Court Should Review Oregon’s Discriminatory Fuel Pricing Rules](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CourtBuilding_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Supreme Court Should Review Oregon’s Discriminatory Fuel Pricing Rules
Last week, American fuel manufactures filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to review a lower court decision upholding an Oregon law…
![Time to Restore Traditional Joint-Employer Standard](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/employees_ThinkstockPhotos-512165336_5-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Time to Restore Traditional Joint-Employer Standard
This week the public comment period closes in regards to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed rule to modify the standard for joint employment. This…
![Teachers Paid to Walk Off the Job?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/megaphone-1480342_960_720-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Teachers Paid to Walk Off the Job?
The United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union contract negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have broken down. UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl called…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Consumer Freedom](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_3-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Consumer Freedom
The second-to-last chapter in the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s agenda for the 116th Congress focuses on consumer freedom. Specifically, the chapter recommends ways Congress can rein…
![Eliminate Obsolete Patented and Proprietary Products Regulation](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/fhwa_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Eliminate Obsolete Patented and Proprietary Products Regulation
Today, I submitted comments to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on behalf of CEI in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking on promoting innovation in…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/alaska_fish_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
On Saturday the partial government shutdown became the longest ever. The news cycle was wall-to-wall wall and shutdown coverage, though Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) introduced…
![Oregon Court Rebuffs Kids’ Climate Lawsuit](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OR-state-capitol-building_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Oregon Court Rebuffs Kids’ Climate Lawsuit
Oregon’s Court of Appeals ruled on 9th January that the public-trust doctrine does not impose a “fiduciary obligation” on the state to develop and implement…
![Green New Deal: 626 Groups Send Congress a Back-to-Dark Ages Manifesto](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/light-bulb-1-pixabay_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Green New Deal: 626 Groups Send Congress a Back-to-Dark Ages Manifesto
Six-hundred twenty-six organizations, some of them major environmental groups, sent a letter to Members of the House of Representatives on January 10th that details their demands for…
![VIDEO: What Beer Can Teach Us about Well-Crafted Laws](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/boden_beer-578x324-c-default.png)
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VIDEO: What Beer Can Teach Us about Well-Crafted Laws
Our friends at the Federalist Society have released a fun and informative new short film on the history of beer and alcohol regulation. …
![Reject U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act’s Presidential Power Grab](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/trade-ship_0-578x324-c-default.png)
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Reject U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act’s Presidential Power Grab
A forthcoming bill, the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, written by “Death by China” coauthor Peter Navarro and other presidential advisers, seeks to expand the president’s…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: Regulatory Reform](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_2-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: Regulatory Reform
The first chapter in the new Competitive Enterprise Institute agenda for Congress, “Free to Prosper,” is on regulatory reform. Most of the Agenda is about reforming…
![Agenda for the 116th Congress: The Second Decade of Crypto-Blockchain](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr-578x324-c-default.png)
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Agenda for the 116th Congress: The Second Decade of Crypto-Blockchain
As cryptocurrency and the associated blockchain celebrate their tenth birthdays, CEI’s new “Free to Prosper” agenda for the 116th Congress aims to ensure bureaucratic red…
![Introducing a Free-Market Agenda for Accountability and Prosperity](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_0-578x324-c-default.png)
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Introducing a Free-Market Agenda for Accountability and Prosperity
The governance of American life has been handed over to an operating system that subtly and perversely drives individuals’ behavior away from their own decisions.
![The Legacy of Economist Harold Demsetz (1930-2019)](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DemsetzCEIRIP-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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The Legacy of Economist Harold Demsetz (1930-2019)
Economist Harold Demsetz, a Chicago school theorist who was one of the pioneers of the approach now called New Institutional Economics, had died. The former…
![Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Changes to Mercury Air Rule](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-472633676_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Changes to Mercury Air Rule
On December 28th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to rescind the Obama EPA’s justification for its 2012 Mercury Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. MATS…
![A Free-Market Agenda for the 116th Congress](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-Agenda-for-Congres_banner_cr_1-578x324-c-default.png)
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A Free-Market Agenda for the 116th Congress
After a contentious election season, we look forward to the nation’s elected representatives rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. Divided party control in…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ca_safety_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Right now is a weird time for regulation. The shutdown has lasted for several business days, and the Federal Register has slowed to a trickle.
![Iconic NYC Bookstore Owner Pleads: Don’t Landmark My Property](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/thestrand_reasonTV-578x324-c-default.png)
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Iconic NYC Bookstore Owner Pleads: Don’t Landmark My Property
Our friends at Reason have been following a fascinating story unfolding in New York City, in which a business owner is trying to fend off what many people would…
![Year in Review 2018: Consumer Financial Protection](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CFPB_logo_2028x1116-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Consumer Financial Protection
2018 was a big year for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (also known, for a while, as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection). The past year…
![End of the Road for Net Neutrality Comeback Attempt](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/GettyImages-613749406_1-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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End of the Road for Net Neutrality Comeback Attempt
The end of the 115th Congress meant the end of using the Congressional Review Act to void the Federal Communication Commission’s repeal of Obama-era net…
![Great Jobs Numbers Don’t Assuage Trade War Worries](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ThinkstockPhotos-611998106-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Great Jobs Numbers Don’t Assuage Trade War Worries
Today’s jobs numbers were a surprise to everyone—312,000 jobs added in December was almost twice the consensus view of economists of 176,000. Strong wage growth…
![What’s on Tap for Trade in 2019](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/trade_shippingcontainers_ThinkstockPhotos-509671666_2_1-578x324-c-default.png)
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What’s on Tap for Trade in 2019
At noon today, the 116th Congress convened. Over at Fox Business, Iain Murray and I look at what the coming year has in store for…
![The 2019 Unconstitutionality Index](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/red-tape-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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The 2019 Unconstitutionality Index
Even in an administration attempting to cut regulation, the number of rules from hundreds of federal agencies (nobody really knows exactly how many) will vastly outstrip the…
![Trump’s 2018 Deregulatory Effort: 3,367 Rules, 68,082 Pages](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/reg-reform_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Trump’s 2018 Deregulatory Effort: 3,367 Rules, 68,082 Pages
At year-end 2018, how is President Donald Trump’s regulatory reform project going?…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/kiwifruit-578x324-c-default.png)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The shutdown continued all through Christmas week. But because the Federal Register works on a few days lag for many of its publications, it still…
![Year in Review 2018: Climate Policy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GettyImages-472633676-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Climate Policy
The Trump administration this year took additional steps to dismantle key components of President Obama’s climate policy “legacy.” Supporting and guiding those efforts is a…
![VIDEO: What Qualifies as a ‘Water’ of the United States?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/wotus-578x324-c-default.png)
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VIDEO: What Qualifies as a ‘Water’ of the United States?
Our friends at the Regulatory Transparency Project have created a great new video to help explain the legal impact of the Clean Water Act and…
![An Executive Order to Shine Light on Dark Matter](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/North_Façade_White_House_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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An Executive Order to Shine Light on Dark Matter
Over at The Hill, Wayne Crews and I make the case for an executive order that would limit executive power. It’s more plausible than it…
![Best Books of 2018: Clashing over Commerce](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/douglas_Irwin_cr-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Best Books of 2018: Clashing over Commerce
Douglas Irwin’s magnum opus, published at the end of 2017, is already a classic. Given the prominent role trade is playing in politics right now, it…
![Year in Review 2018: Internet Sales Tax](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ThinkstockPhotos-464263169_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Internet Sales Tax
On June 21, 2018, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed fifty years of precedent by allowing states to collect sales taxes…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ThinkstockPhotos-624185158-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In an eventful week that included criminal justice reform, shutdown drama, and cabinet drama, this year’s new regulations exceeded 2017’s total with more than a…
![Year in Review 2018: Trade Policy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-06-at-1.45.03-PM-578x324-c-default.png)
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Year in Review 2018: Trade Policy
2018 was the year in which President Trump began to implement his campaign promises of using tariffs to change America’s trade policy. The ostensible reason…
![Best Books of 2018: Life after Google](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GeorgeGilder-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Best Books of 2018: Life after Google
Are Tucker Carlson’s predictions of Google taking over the future keeping you up at night? Sooth yourself with the creative destruction described in “Life after…
![Year in Review 2018: Antitrust](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Antitrust-GettyImages-1054012146-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Antitrust
If 2018 was a bad year for antitrust skeptics, 2019 promises to be worse. We must hope that the Federal Trade Commission and Department of…
![Best Books of 2018: Suicide of the West & Enlightenment Now](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/pinker-with-book-578x324-c-default.png)
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Best Books of 2018: Suicide of the West & Enlightenment Now
Goldberg’s “Suicide of the West” is a literate, snappily written, and often humorous defense of Enlightenment values and a broadside against populism. Steven Pinker’s “Enlightenment…
![Year in Review 2018: Transportation Policy](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Truck-ThinkstockPhotos_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Transportation Policy
CEI had a busy year in the transportation policy trenches. We worked at the federal, state, and local levels on a variety of projects. Below…
![Best Books of 2018: Factfulness](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Factfulness_OpenGraph-578x324-c-default.png)
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Best Books of 2018: Factfulness
Think Julian Simon, Matt Ridley, and Steven Pinker’s data-driven optimism, mixed with Michael Shermer and Bryan Caplan’s awareness of human cognitive biases, as told by…
![Kent Lassman’s Christmas Wish List](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Kent_xmas_2019-578x324-c-default.png)
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Kent Lassman’s Christmas Wish List
The holiday season is a good time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and what we can look forward to in the next year. That’s…
![Year in Review 2018: Labor and Employment](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/employees_ThinkstockPhotos-512165336_4-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Labor and Employment
There was a mix of good and bad news in the labor and employment policy space in 2018. A tremendous gain was made in the…
![Year in Review 2018: Operation Choke Point](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/bank_creditunion_ThinkstockPhotos-web-version-537645186_3-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Year in Review 2018: Operation Choke Point
Every Halloween, there exists the temptation for commentators to describe routine events in the news with adjectives like “scary” and “frightening.” Sensitive to sounding clichéd…
![Best Books of 2018: Judicial Fortitude](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ThinkstockPhotos-488562037-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Best Books of 2018: Judicial Fortitude
My pick for one of the best books of this year is “Judicial Fortitude: The Last Chance to Rein in the Administrative State” (Encounter Books,…
![EPA Takes on Costly, Unnecessary Wood Heater Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/epa_building-2_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
EPA Takes on Costly, Unnecessary Wood Heater Regulations
The Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency cranked out so many bad major rules that it was hard to pay attention to all the also-bad, but relatively…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/dairycows_ThinkstockPhotos-502690287_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
A partial federal shutdown looks more likely than it did a week ago, the federal deficit will likely top $1 trillion next year, and Theresa…
![CEI Takes on Antitrust](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GettyImages-613749406_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
CEI Takes on Antitrust
There is a concerted effort from elements on both sides of the political aisle to use antitrust law to regulate and ultimately break apart Big…
![Attacks on Trump Administration Environmental Federalism Fall Short](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/epa-1_0-578x324-c-default.png)
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Attacks on Trump Administration Environmental Federalism Fall Short
Today’s Energy & Environment News (subscription required) has an article titled “Wheeler preaches federalism on water, not cars.” The gist is that various critics claim…
![5 Myths about E-cigarettes and Public Health](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/e-cigs-vaping-woman-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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5 Myths about E-cigarettes and Public Health
My colleague Michelle Minton recently released an excellent new study on the health impact of e-cigarettes and why some people are misrepresenting the risks involved…
![Infrastructure Bill Should Attack Climate Red Tape, Not Increase It](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/infrastructure_construction_ThinkstockPhotos-501672426_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Infrastructure Bill Should Attack Climate Red Tape, Not Increase It
Enacting legislation will be more difficult in next year’s divided Congress, but an infrastructure bill is something that could get done. Democrats and Republicans may be…
![New Joint Employer Rule Means More Jobs, Not Lower Wages](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ThinkstockPhotos-457740707_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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New Joint Employer Rule Means More Jobs, Not Lower Wages
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is in the process of implementing a regulation that would restore the traditional standard for when a worker is…
![Report from United Nations Climate Conference: Heckling the Hecklers](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/00_generic_facebook-001-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Report from United Nations Climate Conference: Heckling the Hecklers
Katowice, Poland—“Le temps est mauvais,” an African delegate told a colleague as they wrapped themselves up against the early evening chill. The weather wasn’t as…
![85 Years after Repeal, Prohibition Lingers in Your Beer](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/beer-3_pixabay-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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85 Years after Repeal, Prohibition Lingers in Your Beer
On December 5, 1933 the federal government’s nationwide prohibition against alcohol ended. Eighty-five years later, the beer market seems to have finally recovered. Today, there…
![Top Ten Antitrust Targets](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/stockbrokers_wallstreet_0-scaled-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Top Ten Antitrust Targets
Columbia University professor Tim Wu is author of the new book The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age, which calls for a…
![This Week in Ridiculous Regulations](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/highway-1_0-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Former President George H.W. Bush was laid to rest, and no Federal Register was published on Wednesday. President Trump created a new superhero, Tariff Man,…
![American Association for Justice Places Trial Lawyer Interests over Saving Lives](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AVs-GettyImages-877349122-578x324-c-default.jpg)
Blog
American Association for Justice Places Trial Lawyer Interests over Saving Lives
The bipartisan AV START Act would create the first national highly automated vehicle regulatory framework in the U.S. This legislation is necessary to speed deployment…
![Five Priorities for New BCFP Director](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/100-bills-GettyImages-910730068-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Five Priorities for New BCFP Director
Kathleen Kraninger was confirmed as director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. She has promised to implement a free market reform agenda, focusing on…
![Fighting for Small Business: Whiskey Edition](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sb_cr-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Fighting for Small Business: Whiskey Edition
This week marks the 85th anniversary of the end of Prohibition, and we still have a lot to learn from that dismal experiment in government overreach.
![How Realistic Is National Climate Assessment’s Worst Case Scenario?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/refinery_ThinkstockPhotos-178495335_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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How Realistic Is National Climate Assessment’s Worst Case Scenario?
How realistic is the National Climate Assessment’s worst-case emissions scenario? A report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday sheds some interesting…
![Last-Minute Delay in CVS-Aetna Deal Could Threaten Consumer Benefits](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/drugstore_ThinkstockPhotos-bldjp022005_43_1-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Last-Minute Delay in CVS-Aetna Deal Could Threaten Consumer Benefits
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon surprised many on Monday when he announced he may halt the integration of CVS pharmacy’s assets with the nation’s…
![Don’t Blame Google for a Feature Consumers Want](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/smaller-version-Ideas-Woman-Thinkstock-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Don’t Blame Google for a Feature Consumers Want
It’s very rare I disagree with the great freedom-loving journalist John Stossel, but his column at Townhall this week made me raise an eyebrow. In…
![Senate Democrats’ Report Misses Mark on Mulvaney](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/senate_banking-578x324-c-default.png)
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Senate Democrats’ Report Misses Mark on Mulvaney
While President Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, Kathleen Kraninger, awaits a final confirmation vote in the Senate, Senate Democrats have…
![Conflict of Interest over Vaping Threatens Public Health](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/vape-paper-image_0_0-578x324-c-default.png)
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Conflict of Interest over Vaping Threatens Public Health
Cigarette smoking kills nearly half a million Americans every year, and for every person who dies due to smoking, at least 30 people live with…
![Can You Buy Alcohol on Christmas (and New Year’s Day) in Your State?](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Christmas-Drink-Pixabay-578x324-c-default.jpg)
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Can You Buy Alcohol on Christmas (and New Year’s Day) in Your State?
The holidays bring parties, feasts, and libations. But some celebrants may find themselves without a cup of cheer if they wait until the day of a…
![U.S.-China Trade Deal at G20 Small Move in Right Direction](https://cei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/trade_shippingcontainers_ThinkstockPhotos-509671666_5-578x324-c-default.png)
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U.S.-China Trade Deal at G20 Small Move in Right Direction
Nobody knew what to expect going into the G20 summit in Argentina, especially from a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President…