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Precedent on Environmental Pacts: Treaty or “Executive Agreement”?
President Obama claims the global climate pact negotiated in Paris last December—the so-called Paris Agreement—is an executive agreement, not a treaty, hence is not subject…
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Senate Democrats Block Anti-Zika Bill Yet Again
Democrats in the Senate have blocked a bill that would have provided federal funds to combat the spread of the Zika virus, reports The Hill.
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Texas Constitution Bans Taxpayer Subsidies to Private Parties
It may seem obvious, but tax dollars are supposed to be used for purely public purposes, not the private benefit of an individual, corporation, or…
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New Drug Price Proposal Light on Competition, Heavy on Bureaucracy
Last Friday, Hillary Clinton announced a new plan to “respond to unjustified price hikes” on certain pharmaceutical drugs.
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Obamacare Shrinks Economy through Medicaid Expansion and Tax Credit Cliffs
Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid reduced employment in those states that participated in it by a statistically significant extent, according to a recent study by Georgetown’s…
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 6)
By shedding light on comparative agency activity, budgeting and simultaneous improved congressional oversight could counter agency overreach.
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Contingency Lawyers Undermine Integrity of Government Prosecutions
There’s been a lot of press coverage of the Climate Change subpoenas that were issued and then withdrawn by Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The 2016 Federal Register broke the 60,000-page mark last week, and became the 25th-largest edition in the Register’s 81-year history before Labor Day.
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RealClear Radio Hour: American Indian, EpiPen, and Free Speech Fiascos
In this episode of RealClear Radio Hour, we discuss the fiascos of government overreach and overregulation—on American Indian reservations, in the EpiPen saga, and with…
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Obama Expected To Ratify Paris Treaty in China
U. S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will announce that their two countries are officially joining the Paris Climate Treaty when they…
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 5)
Benefits, even more so than costs do not lend themselves to measurement by a third party or external observer, and abuse will result from the…
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Labor Day Highlights Need for Labor Law Reform
Labor Day is a time when we show respect and celebrate the achievements of American workers. However, a better way to respect workers this Labor…
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Reaction to CEI’s Lawsuit against New York Attorney General Schneiderman
Yesterday CEI filed a lawsuit against New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman for refusing to disclose the legal agreements his office made with other state…
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 4)
This week I began by making the case for the idea of a regulatory cost budget but wanted to spend time exploring looming pitfalls and…
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Climate Agreement Signed: What Can The Senate Do?
Reports circulating this week predict that President Obama will unilaterally “Accept” the Paris Climate Treaty on behalf of the United States, breaking from other nations…
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31 Is the Loneliest Number… on the CEI Calendar
We just realized that August 31st is missing from CEI's 2016 Cartoon Calendar.
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Brexit: A Liberal Britain?
There is a great risk in Brexit Britain.
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 3)
Monday in this space, I advocated the idea of a regulatory cost budget but noted there exist looming pitfalls and political traps that could derail…
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Settlement Insurance Shows Need for Court Skepticism in Class Actions
A plaintiffs’ attorney and an insurance executive have created a business, Risk Settlements, that offers a “post-lawsuit settlement insurance product specifically designed to manage settlement…
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 2)
I advocate the idea of a regulatory cost budget but note that there exists looming pitfalls and political traps that could derail it or easily…
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National Right to Work Committee Wrong on Air Traffic Control Reform
The handful of conservative critics of air traffic control reform get the facts all wrong.
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For Affordable Housing, Ditch Prevailing Wage Laws
For residents of some of the nation’s major cities, it’s hardly news that housing costs are high, with little likelihood of their coming down any…
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Rewards and Risks of a Federal Regulatory Budget (Part 1)
Our case for capping and “budgeting” regulatory costs across federal agencies opens by asserting that that, perhaps apart from certain raw compliance and paperwork burdens,…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In one of their busiest weeks to date, agencies passed more than a hundred new regulations covering everything from rubies to frogs.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Budding CEOs, Women, and Politics
On this week’s episode, Jeff Sandefer tells how children younger than 10 are wowing Shark Tank investors and Sarah Skwire compares the feminism of free…
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New Study Finds Ethanol More Carbon Intensive than Gasoline
A University of Michigan study published in the journal Climatic Change challenges a fundamental assumption of the life cycle analyses underpinning the EPA’s Renewable Fuel…
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Transport Groups Oppose Obama Greenhouse Gas Power Grab
Twenty-three organizations representing highway users, transportation, vehicle, and energy trade associations filed joint comments last weekend opposing any proposal by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)…
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California Legislature Passes Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target, But Cap-n-Tax Program Remains in Limbo
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Brexit: What’s Next for Trade?
At the moment, Britain is still a member of the European Union, and therefore its trade arrangements are subject to the terms of the EU’s…
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Milwaukee: Get Your Pokémon Off My Lawn!
Milwaukee County’s Park Department is not happy about virtual pocket monsters.
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Problems Ahead for Grad Student Unionizing
There seems to be an Obama administration wide dictate to ensure as many individuals as possible are to be considered employees. The reason for this…
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Federal Subsidies Won’t Promote Fair Housing
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine recently outlined his and Hillary Clinton’s plan to promote fair housing. Basically, they want to throw money at the…
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Brexit: What Next?
In our new and revised version of Cutting the Gordian Knot: A Roadmap for British Exit from the European Union, Rory Broomfield and I set…
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Our Fight against Government Intimidation
Regardless of which policies you support, any assault on free speech is profoundly unjust. And when that assault is coordinated by high-ranking government officials, it’s…
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RealClear Radio Hour: Brexit and Regulatory Rebellion
In this week’s episode, Julian Morris, Iain Murray, and Richard Williams make the case for Britain’s regulatory rebellion and chart the path forward from Brexit.
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Can a New President Cut Regulations Unilaterally?
Both presidential candidates have delivered economic speeches over the past two weeks, and both have at least given a nod to red tape and the…
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Friday’s Federal Register was one of the year’s biggest, with 74 agency notices, 4 proposed regulations and 15 final regulations spanning 1,119 pages.
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NLRB’s New Joint Employer Standard Strikes Again
Just about one year ago, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dramatically changed the rules on how companies are allowed to contract with other businesses…
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Uber Announces Self-Driving Passenger Pilot, Raises New Regulatory Questions
It was just announced that Uber will soon begin piloting its automated vehicle prototype in Pittsburgh—with passengers. This is not the first automated vehicle…
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Government Wage Mandates Bad for Business and Workers
Wage and hour mandates have seen an uptick of late at the federal, state, and local level.
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Learn Your Workplace Rights with National Employee Freedom Week
The supposedly non-partisan NLRB is woefully inadequate in educating workers on their rights related to opting out of paying full-fledged union dues.
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This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
88 new regulations last week, from poultry improvement to nuclear philosophy.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Taxpayers on the Hook
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Michael Tanner tallies Uncle Sam’s ballooning entitlement debt and Romina Boccia pulls back the cover on the Beltway crony…
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Celebrating Two Great Economists: Bruce Yandle and Julian Simon
I’d like to second my colleague Fred’s birthday wishes for the distinguished economist Bruce Yandle of Clemson University.
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Happy Birthday to Economist Bruce Yandle
Bruce Yandle – a great economic scholar at Clemson University for many years and recipient of the 2016 Julian Simon Award – reaches his 83rd…
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West Virginia Court Blocks “Right-to-Work” Law, Restricts Worker Choice
Workers in the state to have most recently enacted right to work, West Virginia, have lost their freedom to choose whether or not to financially…
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The Cinematic Legacy of CEI Studios
Over the years we’ve hosted a lot of policy and social events in our current office, but we’ve also written and filmed some creative videos…
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“Comeback” Documents Real-life Americans Overcoming Adversity
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and the nonprofit group Opportunity Lives recently hosted a screening of Comeback, a documentary series highlighting the strengths of American…
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Landmark Ruling for Shareholders in Walgreens Class Action Lawsuit
Just weeks before the shareholder vote on Walgreens’ $4.8 billion merger with a European pharmacy, Walgreens got slapped with a class action lawsuit claiming that…
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One Last Look Back Before We Move
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CEI is Moving!
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Next Administration Will Have to Try Harder on Regulatory Moratorium
In a speech yesterday to the Detroit Economic Club, Donald Trump proposed a moratorium on new federal regulations.
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CEI Files Opening Brief in “Vapes on a Plane” Lawsuit
Today, CEI filed its opening brief against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary of Transportation’s March final rule prohibiting electronic cigarette…
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Trump Presents Energy Policy Ideas in Detroit
In a policy speech yesterday in Detroit, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump outlined his program of tax, regulatory, and trade policies to jump-start the economy.
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RealClear Radio Hour: #BeTheNext
In this episode of RealClear Radio Hour—from the 2016 YAL National Convention— Cliff Maloney leads a millennial revolution and Glenn Jacobs—aka WWE Wrestler Kane—shows his…
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Olympic Ceremony an Example of Cheap Talk on Global Warming
“Doing something” about global warming is hard and requires economic sacrifice.
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
Congress is on its August recess, but agencies stayed busy with more than 2,000 Federal Register pages, 51 proposed regulations, and nearly 100 final regulations…
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Volkswagen Deal on Zero Emission Vehicles an End Run around Congress
In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama promised to put 1 million electric vehicles on the road. To this end, the President…
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Tepid Economic Performance Argues for Cutting Government Red Tape
How is the economy doing? It’s a mixed picture.
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Joint Employer Liability Stifles Small Business
In Hillary Clinton’s nomination acceptance speech at the DNC convention, she said “Way too many dreams die in the parking lots of banks.” Obtaining financing…
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Elon Musk Angry at Having to Compete for Taxpayer Handouts
“Rent seeking” occurs when companies secure government benefits for actions that do not otherwise create wealth.
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Q&A on the FDA’s New E-Cigarette Rules
After years of waiting and fighting, the new rules put forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on electronic cigarettes and other non-cigarette…
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Financial Transaction Tax Would Hit Main Street, Not Just Wall Street
When progressives were defending the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule governing retirement accounts, they constantly praised the regulation for encouraging investment in low-cost index funds.
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Does EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
A new University of Minnesota study finds that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) program leads to net increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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The Long Term Strategy Behind the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule
It’s not often that proponents of labor regulation proponents admit to how forceful the rules have become. Yesterday, however, we had the benefit of one…
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Cooperative Agreement on Wage and Hour Rules Could Backfire on Employers
As I discussed earlier this week, Subway came to terms with the Department of Labor (DOL) in what is being considered a cooperative agreement. Its…
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Don’t Fear DEET-Based Insect Repellents
With the Zika virus now reportedly being transmitted by mosquitos here in the United States, consumers—expecting moms, kids, and everyone else--should be sure to use…
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EPA’s Missed Deadlines Causing Widespread Dysfunction
Yesterday I published a study that reviews EPA’s performance for more than 1,000 Clean Air Act deadlines. Here’s the big takeaway: the agency missed 84…
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Corporate Social Responsibility Policies May Suffer under “Joint Employer” Standard
Companies adopting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies has been in vogue for a while now. According to the Financial Times, in 2014, U.S. and UK…
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New Climate “Guidance” Could Breed Anti-Energy Obstructionism
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today released its final guidance on how federal agencies should consider climate change effects in National Environmental…
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A Tale of Two Settlements: The Virtue of Being Adversarial in Class Action Lawsuits
Ascena is the corporate owner of the Justice brand clothing franchise, which caters to pre-adolescent girls in 900 stores throughout the country. (If you’ve ever…
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Challenging the Constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Our constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is once again on hold, but this time the delay may be relatively short.
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Subway Labor Agreement Could Lead to Problematic “Joint Employer” Status
It has been just about one year since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that rocked the franchise-franchisee world, which dramatically altered…
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RealClear Radio Hour: Social Justice and Overcriminalization
This week on RealClear Radio Hour we look at two sides of criminal justice reform—from encouraging entrepreneurial hustle and productive reentry into society to reining…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The 2016 Federal Register broke the 50,000-page mark on Friday, and remains on a record pace. New regulations for the week ranged from cement to…
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Federal Register Tops 50,000 Pages, Yet Obama’s Report to Congress Is MIA
The annual Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities is quite overdue.
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Reason’s Bastiat Journalism Prize Celebrates Writers Who Advance Freedom
Leftist intellectual and media bias can be as disheartening and maddening as it is relentless. So thank goodness for the Reason Foundation and its annual…
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World Nature Conservation Day: a Reason to Celebrate Fossil Fuels
Today is World Nature Conservation Day (WNCD), “observed on 28th July all over the world with the objective of increasing awareness about and protecting the…
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Celebrate World Conservation Day with Real Solutions
Today is World Nature Conservation Day, which brings to mind last Wednesday’s episode of The Diane Rehm Show in which guest host Frank Sesno presented…
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Can the Ideas in the RNC Platform Help Reform Regulation?
Lord knows. But the Republican Party’s new platform which contains planks on such pressing issues as “Protection Against an Electromagnetic Pulse (p. 54),” also has…
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Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning: A Proactive Approach for the States
I recently attended the annual Automated Vehicle Symposium in San Francisco. More than 1,000 attendees from around the world from industry, academia, government, and NGOs…
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The DNC Platform and Inequality
As the DNC convention wraps up in Philadelphia, I took some time to look over the party platform’s planks on inequality. Iain Murray and I…
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Democrats’ Platform: Surmount Climate Challenge with Good-Paying Jobs, Low-Cost Clean Energy
The Democratic Party officially adopted their 2016 platform at their national convention in Philadelphia on 25th July. The energy and environment section is titled, “Combat…
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DNC Email Leak Shows Cozy Relationship between Democrats and Unions
The Democratic Party and labor unions are consistently accused of having a quid pro quo relationship, and for good reason. Emails from the DNC email…
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A Disappointing Bipartisan Agreement on Banking Regulation
Last night at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gave a speech covering a number of controversial campaign issues, focusing in particular on…
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Democratic Party Platform Seeks to Curb Worker Choice and Opportunity
The policies set forth in the Democrat platform are misguided – in order to help American workers really succeed in the 21st century, we should roll…
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
The big story of the week was the new proposed payday lending regulation, which ate up 356 pages of Friday’s 625-page Federal Register.
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RealClear Radio Hour: Freedom Rising
This week’s RealClear Radio Hour was recorded in Las Vegas at FreedomFest 2016, the trade show for liberty.
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GOP Platform Calls for Fewer Regulations and More Energy Production
The Republican National Convention on 18th July officially adopted their 2016 party platform. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) chaired the platform committee; and the co-chairs were…
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Does Global Warming Policy Increase Summer Swelter?
Supporters of EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) claim the program “mitigates” anthropogenic global warming by substituting biofuels for petroleum products in the nation’s motor fuel…
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Net Neutrality
Under the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA), before an agency may issue a new rule, it must usually publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in…
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Secret Rules
Since Obama took office, the EPA’s grossest procedural violation was so outrageous that the agency voluntarily reversed course after it came to light. In the…
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Happy “No Food Is Junk Food” Day 2016!
I can’t stand candy corn. Yes, I’m that person in the office at Halloween.
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Washington Post “Fact Checker” Column Still in Denial over Regulatory Costs
The Washington Post “Fact Checker” column is running its critiques of the Republican convention, and in the process is trying again to rebuff a $15,000…
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Labor Regulators Set Sights on Microsoft
It has almost been one year since the National Labor Relations Board dramatically changed the definition of “joint employer” in Browning-Ferris.
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Regulation by Guidance
Federal agencies are to publish a notice of rulemaking and allow the public time to comment on the rule before it becomes final, or legally…
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Good Cause, Bad Faith
For the past seven decades, most federal agency actions must comport with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The APA lays out the basic processes required…
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Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: The Series
Inspired by our friends at RegBlog, Open Market is publishing a new blog series this week on pressing issues in administrative law and regulatory policy.
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RealClear Radio Hour: U.S. Constitutionalist and Soviet Dissident
In this episode of RealClear Radio Hour, we contrast constitutionalism and socialism.
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CEI’s Battered Business Bureau: The Week in Regulation
New regulations from the past week cover everything from Namibian meat to California raisins.