Air travel and rail transport were early examples of deregulation bringing huge benefits to consumers and industries. Yet automobility, air travel, and freight rail, are increasingly threatened with further regulation that will reduce their ability to transport goods and people. CEI opposes these attacks by arguing for greater freedom in mobility and opposing perverse transportation industry regulations.
Transportation Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
Vehicle kill switches and other horrible things Washington is doing to us from a distance
The remote kill switch for automobiles authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 is a prime…
Blog
10 important amendments for the House Transportation spending bill
The US House of Representatives is currently debating H.R. 4820, its Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development spending bill. There are many good amendments being…
News Release
Amendment prohibiting funding for Biden administration fuel economy regulations would benefit consumers
The House is expected to consider an amendment offered by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) to the Transportation and HUD spending bill (H.R.
Search Posts
Blog
Vehicle kill switches and other horrible things Washington is doing to us from a distance
The remote kill switch for automobiles authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 is a prime…
Blog
10 important amendments for the House Transportation spending bill
The US House of Representatives is currently debating H.R. 4820, its Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development spending bill. There are many good amendments being…
News Release
Amendment prohibiting funding for Biden administration fuel economy regulations would benefit consumers
The House is expected to consider an amendment offered by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) to the Transportation and HUD spending bill (H.R.
Blog
UAW strike epilogue: Big Three will continue to shrink
The United Auto Workers has won, according to the headlines. What the union has won will force three companies, Ford, GM, and Stellantis, owner…
Blog
Air travel will continue to increase—unless grounded by climate change policies
The Duke of Wellington was said to have opposed the growth of railroads in 19th-century Britain because they would “only encourage the common people to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Creating the future with Jim Pethokoukis
In this week’s episode we talk about income and tax migration, refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the problem with federal crop…
Blog
Former NHTSA administrator nominee still serving as acting administrator, raising serious issues
On May 30, President Joe Biden withdrew the nomination of Ann Carlson to be the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Blog
Wall Street Journal agrees with CEI, opposes Railway Safety Act
In an editorial today, the Wall Street Journal joined with many other voices, including Bloomberg, National Review, and a coalition led…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: milk losses and duck vehicles
Google’s antitrust trial started, and the Justice Department cited Russian antitrust actions to back up its case. The latest inflation numbers were a…
Blog
United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie
If the United Auto Workers go on strike this week – and as I write this it appears as though they will – it…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: crash test dummies and potato promotion
Congress returned from its August recess. It was a four-day week for the Federal Register due to Labor Day, but the Federal Register still grew…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defend your points and miles with Bryan Bashur
In this week’s episode we talk about where our doctors come from in the US, what current inflation numbers tell us about…
DC Journal
Railway Safety Act Will Drive Up Prices Without Adding Safety, Critics Say
DC Journal cites CEI’s Iain Murry on the Railway Safety Act: Competitive Enterprise Institute’s vice president for strategy and senior fellow, Iain Murray, agreed, arguing…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: ice fog and pre-merger paperwork
Inflation more or less held steady. The FTC is reportedly getting ready to file an antitrust suit against Amazon. The Federal Register had…
Blog
Let them eat public transportation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its latest attack on Automobility with proposed CA standards on combustion engine vehicles. The war on…
Blog
Congress is set to reauthorize the FAA. Should it?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 expires at the end of September. This week, Congress will consider H.R. 3935 (118). If…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: nuclear debt collection and high airports
The FTC lost another major antitrust case, this time its bid to stop the Microsoft-Activision merger. CPI inflation dropped to 3 percent, though…
News Release
Coalition warns Congress about Railway Safety Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Rio Grande Foundation today sent a coalition letter to Congress expressing serious concerns with the Senate’s Railway Safety Act…
Blog
Congress should vote no on the Railway Safety Act, says coalition
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Rio Grande Foundation today sent a coalition letter to Congress expressing serious concerns with the Senate’s Railway Safety…
Letters
CEI Co-Leads Coalition Letter on Railroad Safety Act
Dear Members of Congress: The undersigned individuals write to express concerns with the Railway Safety Act (S. 576). Safety advancement in any mode of…
Blog
Costlier cars help the poor, according to EPA
There is plenty of controversy surrounding EPA’s proposed new tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions rules for model year 2027-2032 vehicles, ranging from whether the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: electric motors and small business loans
Congress and President Biden reached a debt ceiling deal. Texas attorney general and antitrust hawk Ken Paxton was impeached. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Protecting private property in the Peach State
Institute for Justice communications manager Dan King brings us an infuriating but important story out of the state of Georgia. Property owners in the…
Blog
What happens if governments stop trying to make electric vehicles happen?
I recently spotted an interesting analysis of the market for electric vehicles and the prospect for them eventually replacing ones powered by internal combustion…
Blog
EPA’s new coal rule: Still unlawful after all these years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-publication draft of its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for fossil-fuel power plants…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Letting people prosper with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, a report…
Blog
What I told the EPA about its attack on Americans’ cars and mobility
The Biden administration is using the whole of government to stop Americans from driving gas-powered vehicles. This campaign began right at the start of the…
Blog
Senate committee yells ‘all aboard!’ for controversial Railway Safety Act
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved the Railway Safety Act this morning, with all Democrats and Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (OH) and Eric Schmitt…
Blog
EPA’s almost bare-naked electric car mandate
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks,…
Blog
Too Clever by Half – EPA’s De-Facto Electric Vehicle Mandate
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced new, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. The standards would increase in…
Fox News
Biden unveils toughest-ever car emissions rules in bid to force electric vehicle purchases
Fox News cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on electric vehicles: “The Biden administration is trying to bend…
Testimony
Testimony of Ben Lieberman Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and members of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Ben Lieberman and I…
Inside Sources
East Palestine Derailment Reveals a Lot of What Is Wrong With Our Politics
The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous material in East Palestine, Ohio, is a social and environmental disaster that can potentially ruin lives…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing Railway Safety Act of 2023
We write you to urge your opposition to the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Introduced following the horrible accident in East Palestine, Ohio, the legislation…
Issues and Insights
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to promise a…
Blog
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary Pete…
National Review
Southwest’s Debacle Should Cost It Dearly
It is by now clear that the airline chaos of the past week, which started during the punishing winter storm shortly before Christmas, is largely…
News Release
CEI Releases Pro-Growth Regulatory Reform Agenda for the 118th Congress
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) offered a set of important policy reforms for the 118th Congress to consider when it convenes in…
Products
Free to Prosper: Transportation
Mobility for both people and goods is one of a modern economy’s most important needs. The COVID-19 pandemic changed our transportation patterns considerably and put…
News Release
House Premature on Rail Strike Intervention: CEI Analysis
The House today voted today on a resolution aimed at averting an impending strike by freight rail workers on December 9 – over a…
Blog
New Whole-of-Government Initiative on Junk Fees Comes with Unintended Consequences
Today the Biden administration announced a new whole-of-government initiative on junk fees from airlines and other industries. The news comes on the same day…
News Release
Amid Hurricane Power Outages, Biden Administration Waives Senseless Jones Act Shipping Restrictions: CEI Statement
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Ryan Young praised the Biden administration for temporarily waiving shipping restrictions imposed by the 1920s era Jones Act. “The…
Blog
Why Railway Unions Oppose the Deal Biden Helped Arrange
The Chamber of Commerce today urged Congress to step in and impose a settlement should talks between the rail industry and the its…
Blog
CEI Leads Coalition Opposing Increased Government Interference in Rail Operations
CEI and 21 other organizations and individuals have signed a letter opposing the misleadingly named Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act, which would…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, oppose the inaccurately named Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act. It will cause significant harm…
Comment
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission Regarding the Motor Vehicle Dealers Trade Regulation Rule
Comment Submitted: September 12, 2022 Docket No. FTC-2022-0046-0001 On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit the following comments in response to…
Blog
Dead Man’s Switch: Biden Administration Fights Railroad Automation
Of all modes of transportation, one would think that railways would be at the leading edge of automation. After all, they don’t use public roads,…
News Release
Mandating Reciprocal Switching Would Trample Property Rights and Raise Costs for Consumers
The Surface Transportation Board will hold a hearing on March 15 and 16 to consider a proposal to mandate reciprocal switching for freight railroads.
Comment
Comments on Application Of The National Railroad Passenger Corporation Under 49 U.S.C. § 24308(E)
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit this comment letter for the Board’s consideration in the FD 36496 proceeding. Founded in…
News Release
CEI Files Court Petition Challenging EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today filed a petition for review with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of itself, four…
National Review
Video Explains Why New Freight-Rail Regulation Is a Bad Idea
National Review cites CEI’s video on reciprocal switching, featuring Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray: A new video from the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s…
Blog
Reciprocal Switching Is a Bad Idea at a Bad Time
The Surface Transportation Board has resurrected a bad idea it considered in 2012 and 2016—mandated reciprocal switching for freight railroads. For background, you can’t do…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Opposing Freight Rail Reciprocal Switching
Dear Honorable Board Members, We, the undersigned, maintain a deep interest in free markets and the benefits they provide to the American consumer. We write…
The Hill
5G Debacle Shows How Poor Governance Threatens Aviation Innovation
The U.S. aviation industry almost came to a halt earlier this month over the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) and airlines’ last-minute objection to…
News Release
President Biden to Discuss Tax Breaks for Wealthy Americans with Car Manufacturers
President Joe Biden plans to meet with the CEOs of General Motors and Ford to discuss proposals to subsidize electric vehicle purchases that were included…
Blog
Deregulate to Stimulate: 15 Republican Governors Launch ‘Operation Open Roads’ to Unclog Supply Chains
Some cheery holiday news reported in the Epoch Times: Fifteen Republican governors, led by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, have launched “Operation Open Road,”…
Blog
Not Always an Antitrust Issue: Airline Edition
The Justice Department is gearing up to file an antitrust case against JetBlue and American Airlines over an alliance they recently formed. The Wall…
National Review
INVEST in America Act Is a Bad Investment
The House of Representatives will soon vote on the “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act”…
Comment
Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0030 Marlo Lewis CEI free market groups 6-11-2021
View Full Document as PDF Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Energy Alliance, Americans for Tax Reform, Freedom Works, Caesar Rodney Institute,…
Blog
Railway Unions Want Minimum Crew Numbers
Cars are learning to drive themselves on U.S. highways. Unmanned aerial drones are fueling the expansion of e-commerce. Railways have been trying to…
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Keep Driving Fees Flat No Matter the Vehicle
It’s plain that the federal gas tax is past its sell-by date. Originally introduced as a fair way for automobile drivers to pay for the…
The Washington Examiner
Polling Shows Slight Majority Support For Mileage Tax
The Washington Examiner cites CEI’s coalition letter in support of mileage-based user fees: The VMT tax is an idea that has seized a broad…
National Review
Biden’s ‘Infrastructure’ Plan: If You Build It, You Will Pay
You and I come by road or rail. Economists travel on infrastructure,” Margaret Thatcher once told an audience — pillorying economists’ love of jargon…
Letters
CEI Leads Highway Coalition Letter in Support of Mileage-Based User Fees
View Full Document as PDF Dear Member of Congress, As Congress considers surface transportation reauthorization, its top priority should be restoring the longstanding…
Blog
Secretary Pete Scores an Own Goal
It should have been an open goal. Everyone agrees that the nation’s highways need more funding. Everyone agrees that the gas tax has passed its…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Sami’s Law
View Full Document as PDF Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader Hoyer, and Whip Scalise: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing millions…
The Free-Lance Star
Electric Vehicles are Not a Panacea
The Free-Lance Star cites CEI’s study on electric vehicles: A 2020 study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute concluded that “manufacturing an EV requires more…
The Washington Times
Biden’s Climate Agenda Likely To Push Gas Prices Even Higher
The Washington Times cites Director for th Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on gas prices: “People are more sensitive to changes in…
The Post-Journal
Why So Many Subsidies For Electric Vehicles?
If electric vehicles (EVs) are as fantastic as claimed, why do they need so many government handouts? Proponents of EVs are increasingly using the “I Word” —…
Blog
UK Court Ruling on Uber will Mean Fewer, More Expensive Rides, and Fewer Jobs
Today, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled on an important question as to whether certain drivers who work with Uber are entitled to…
News Release
UK Court Ruling Against Uber Will Mean Fewer Drivers
The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that Uber drivers must be treated as workers instead of self-employed, which could put Uber on the hook…
Citizens Journal
Electric Vehicle Shock Treatment
Citizens Journal cites CEI’s report by Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman. Mining and processing ores, and manufacturing batteries, would also require enormous amounts of fossil…
News Release
Report Urges Reforming Surface Transportation for Long-Term Sustainability
The president and Congress opted to extend the multiyear surface transportation authorization for another year through Sept. 2021, due to pandemic uncertainties and ongoing lack…
Study
Reforming Surface Transportation for Long-Term Sustainability
View Full Document as PDF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY When policy makers are asked to assess the condition of highway infrastructure, their responses tend to break…
News Release
New CEI Paper Asks: Would More Electric Vehicles be Good for the Environment?
The environmental benefits of “zero emission” electric vehicles are often touted, but rarely discussed are the many environmental downsides associated with creating and powering EVs.
Study
Would More Electric Vehicles Be Good for the Environment?
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…
Blog
Forty Years of Freedom: Rail Deregulation Worked
Forty years ago today, President Carter signed the Staggers Act, which deregulated the American freight rail industry. As CEI has long maintained, this…
Blog
Regulatory Waiver Clears the Sky for Private Partnership, Innovation, and Competition
Three months have passed since the Federal Aviation Administration granted a special waiver to the drone delivery company Zipline International. Early last week, Walmart announced…
Letters
Coalition of 12 Urges Revisions to Bill Regulating Transportation Network Companies
Dear Leader McConnell: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers, we ask you to decline any requests to hotline H.R.
Blog
All Levels of Government Need a Top-to-Bottom Review of Transportation Policy
Evidence is mounting that mass transit played a major role in spreading COVID-19. According to analytics firm TrendMacro, the only factor “that seems to make…
Duluth News Tribune
Jones Act Draws Critics, Defenders: Battle Lines Are Forming as the Merchant Marine Act Marks its Centennial
The Duluth News Tribune references CEI senior fellow Mario Loyola’s writing on the Jones Act: Mario Loyola, a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Forbes
From SpaceX To George Washington: How Our First President Welcomed Balloon Flight And Predicted Air Travel
With its splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the SpaceX Crew Dragon became the latest vehicle to continue the tradition of manned flights taking off from and…
National Review
Trump’s Push to Modernize Our Infrastructure
Last week President Trump accomplished one of his most important goals: to reform the broken system of federal approvals for major infrastructure projects such as highways,…
Blog
CEI Opposes Federal Government Coercing a State into Assisting with Federal Law Enforcement
Last Friday, CEI took a stand for federalism and separation of powers through an amicus brief. These constitutional principles are critical to the constitutionally limited…
Blog
Infrastructure Bill’s Non-Serious Nature Is a Serious Problem
America’s current surface transportation authorization, the FAST Act, expires at the end of September. Rather than reauthorizing it, however, House Democrats have introduced the INVEST…
Blog
EPA Sends Proposed Aircraft GHG Rule to White House for Review
On May 1, the EPA sent its first-ever proposed rule on aircraft greenhouse gas emissions to OMB for review. Promulgated pursuant to the Clean Air…
Blog
CEI Submits Comments to DOT on Aviation Consumer Protection Authority Modernization
Today, CEI submitted comments in response to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s notice of proposed rulemaking in the matter of Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices.
Comment
CEI Comments to OST on ACPA NPRM
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation’s (“OST”) Notice…
National Review
How The White House “Guidance For Regulation Of Artificial Intelligence” Invites Overregulation
Excessive top-down federal funding and governance of scientific and technology research will be increasingly incompatible with a future of lightly regulated science and…
Politico
Infrastructure Response to Coronavirus Full Steam Ahead
Politico cites Senior Fellow Marc Scribner on the prospect of a transportation infrastructure stimulus package: But the concept is already facing opposition from the right. “This…
Blog
House Democrats Dust off January Infrastructure Wish List as Faux-Response to Coronavirus Crisis
House Democrats announced a coronavirus infrastructure response as part of a “phase 4” relief bill. A transportation infrastructure stimulus package makes no sense as a…
News Release
CEI Applauds Easing of CAFE Standards But Further Reductions Would Be a Lot Better for Consumers
The Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency today released the final Safer Affordable Fuel Efficiency (SAFE) rule, partially rolling back stringent and costly fuel…
Blog
New York Times Explains Foolishness of Trump’s General Motors Nationalization
Last Friday, President Trump nationalized General Motors, ordering the company to produce as many ventilators as HHS Secretary Alex Azar says is necessary to address…
News Release
Trump Wrongly Authorizes Defense Production Act Against General Motors in COVID-19 Response
President Trump today invoked the Defense Production Act to compel auto maker General Motors to start producing ventilators to combat the COVID-19 virus. Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Fly the (Greenhouse) Friendly Skies, If You Can Still Afford to under the House COVID-19 Bill
Airports haven’t been this empty since after 9/11, so it is not surprising that airlines would be recipients of tens of billions of assistance in…
Blog
Transportation Infrastructure Stimulus Is No Cure for Coronavirus Economic Slump
As we enter a new era of slapdash bailouts driven by a dangerous mix of panic, ignorance, and opportunism, we face a growing list of…
Reason Aviation Policy Newsletter
DOT Proposes Reforms to Aviation Consumer Protection Authority
In 1978, Congress enacted the Airline Deregulation Act, laying the basis for a greatly expanded, more competitive, and lower-priced airline industry. But in recent years,…
Blog
CEI Comments to FCC on Proposed Reallocation of 5.9 GHz Band
On March 9, CEI submitted comments to the FCC on its proposal to reallocate a portion of the 5.9 GHz band from Intelligent Transportation Systems…
Blog
U.S. Department of Transportation Proposes Modernizing its Aviation Consumer Protection Authority
Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced a new proposed rule that would “align its definitions of unfairness and deception with the principles set forth by…
24/7 Customs Broker News
DHS Prohibits N.Y. Residents From Signing Up for Trusted Traveler Programs
24/7 Customs Broker News cites senior fellow Marc Scribner on the Department of Homeland Security’s recent decision: Marc Scribner, senior fellow at Washington think…
