Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow who specializes in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Lieberman has returned to CEI after serving seven years as a senior counsel on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. As a congressional staffer, he worked on a number of issues related to fuels and vehicles, including the Renewable Fuel Standard and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. He also worked on energy infrastructure permitting reform, home appliance energy efficiency standards, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Previously in his career, Lieberman completed a decade-long stint at CEI as well as five years at the Heritage Foundation. He will continue to work on energy and environmental policy issues in his latest position at CEI, with an emphasis on reforming the federal permitting process for projects that are subject to it.
Lieberman has published hundreds of op-eds and articles, including in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, Weekly Standard, and National Review. He has appeared on a number of radio and television programs on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and CNBC. He has also testified before Congress on a number of energy and environmental issues.
Lieberman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, and his law degree from the George Washington University School of Law.
Authored by Ben Lieberman
News
DOE adopts CEI view on appliance water and energy limits
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new rules on appliance energy and water limits Friday that agreed with the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI)…
Senate votes to repeal Biden rule against water heaters
Today the U.S. Senate voted on a joint resolution to repeal a Biden-era Energy Department rule imposing unwarranted energy efficiency restrictions on consumer water…
Congress passes resolution repealing Biden energy rule against freezers, walk-in coolers: CEI statement
Congress successfully passed a resolution repealing a Biden Energy Department rule that would have imposed needless restrictions on walk-in coolers and freezers. CEI energy policy…
Blog
Latest rescissions bill finally kills spending on 1987 Montreal Protocol
- By: Ben Lieberman
The most recent congressional rescissions package will block $9 billion in spending, including funds for United Nations (UN) environmental treaties such as the 1987…
Are we losing the subsidized clean energy race to China? Let’s hope so
- By: Ben Lieberman
Do we need to retain the Green New Deal-style subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act or risk losing the clean energy race to China? Many…
Senate should reject lobbyist sales pitches for alternative energy subsidies
- By: Ben Lieberman
Lobbyists for the companies hoping to cash in on the many alternative energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are crying foul now…
Op-Eds/Articles
Fox News
Trump’s Energy Department is taking back our home appliances from berserk bureaucrats
- By: Ben Lieberman
In quite possibly the sharpest regulatory U-turn thus far in 2025, the Trump Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to roll back home appliance regulations…
Fox News
Biden’s leftover regulations will decide your next light bulb unless Trump stops them
- By: Ben Lieberman
Americans have shown a real dislike for the wave of federal regulations targeting home appliances. Even more infuriating is the fact that our…
City Journal
Home Appliance Regulations Are Out of Control
- By: Ben Lieberman
President Trump hates federal home appliance regulations as much as President Biden loved them. And now Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has taken the first…
Studies
Forcing the UN’s Hand on China
- By: Ben Lieberman
Most United Nations (UN) environmental treaties are a bad deal for America that are made worse by classifying China as a developing nation and thus…
Would More Electric Vehicles Be Good for the Environment?
- By: Ben Lieberman
Executive Summary The environmental advantages of electric vehicles (EVs) over internal combustion engine-powered vehicles are as obvious as the lack of a tailpipe emitting air…
The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act: Myth vs. Fact
- By: Ben Lieberman
Beginning in the 1970s, concerns that the refrigerants used in most air conditioners and refrigerators were leaking into the air and depleting the Earth’s ozone…
Citations
Impact Of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – ‘Clean Energy Ghost Towns’
- By: Ben Lieberman
MRCTV cited CEI’s expert on Inflation Reduction Act Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute recently testified before the House Oversight Committee on the impacts of…
Washington Free Beacon
Free the Gas Stoves: Trump’s Energy Department Axes Dozens of Biden Appliance, Energy Regulations
- By: Ben Lieberman
Washington Free Beacon cited CEI’s expert on appliance energy regulations “This is very good news for consumer freedom,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the…
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Lee Introduces Bill to End Biden Era Lightbulb Ban
- By: Ben Lieberman
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee cited CEI’s expert on Bill to end Lightbulb Ban “This bill is very good news for consumers. It…
Regulatory Comments
In Defense of Consumer Choice: CEI Supports DOE’s Withdrawal of Overreaching Regulation on Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products
- By: Ben Lieberman
Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program: Proposed Withdrawal of Determination of Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products as a Covered Consumer Product Notice of Proposed Withdrawal of Determination:…
CEI Comments to Department of Justice Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force
Dear Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force Members: We appreciate this opportunity to provide comments to the task force regarding anticompetitive laws and regulations. There is often…
Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Dishwashers. Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute I. SUMMARY The Notification of Proposed Confirmation of Withdrawal and Request for Comment (proposal) seeks to terminate Department…