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
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Blog
The Railway Safety Act would shift freight from safer rails to deadlier roads
More than 36,000 Americans died on US roads in 2025. Fewer than 1,000 died on the rail system. Yet while highway fatalities rarely…
News Release
Misnamed ‘Railway Safety Act’ advances in House
The misleadingly named Railway Safety Act pushed by the Trump administration was inserted in the Build America 250 Act today and passed out of the House…
Blog
Railway Safety Act in the balance
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is marking up the BUILD America Act — the surface transportation reauthorization bill. Among the amendments under…
Search Posts
Citation
Raising the Federal Gas Tax
Marc Scribner Discusses the Fuel Tax on Fox Business…
Investor's Business Daily
Shutdown Grounds Lawyers In US Air, American Case
Marc Scribner, analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, earlier said: "American, if it isn't able to merge with US Air, is…
Fox News
DOJ Suits Against Airline Merger Further Alienates Unions
“It’s going further than just a few unions that really don’t represent a lot of people,” Marc Scribner, a transportation policy expert with Washington-based Competitive…
Investor's Business Daily
US Air, AMR Vow To Fight DOJ Lawsuit To Block Merger
"This administration's Department of Justice has a different posture than past DOJs, which had a more conservative approach to antitrust measures," said Marc Scribner, transportation…
Las Vegas Review Journal
Government moves to block airline merger, warns of higher fares, fees
But the open-market-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute called the Department of Justice action “deeply misguided.” “On the heels of the successful Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers,…
News Release
CEI Analysts: Let Airlines Merge, Markets Sort Out Winners, Losers
WASHINGTON, D.C, Aug. 13, 2013 – Despite having allowed two huge mergers involving so-called “legacy carriers” in the last three years, the Department of Justice…
Las Vegas Review Journal
5 questions on high-speed rail and its U.S. future
According to a June report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, the Federal Railroad Administration “has strict crash safety regulation for passenger…
News Release
TSA Flouts Law With Vague Rule on Body Scanners
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2013 — Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and Robert L. Crandall, former chairman and CEO of AMR and American…
Comment
Comments to the TSA Regarding the Deployment of AIT
Full Document Available in PDF On March 26, 2013, TSA proposed a rule regarding passenger screening using advanced imaging technology after a…
Las Vegas Review Journal
Government regs hurt passenger rail
That’s the message of this paper from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The writers point out the American safety regulators require passenger rail cars to…
Letters
Coalition Letter to Congress Opposing “Buy America” Provisions for Government Infrastructure Projects
Full Document Available in PDF TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS Do you want to artificially increase the cost of…
Las Vegas Review Journal
A Recipe for More Coastal Republicans
Josh Barro points us to a new report from David Edmondson and Marc Scribner on one of my favorite subjects — the fact that FRA…
Study
Reducing Passenger Train Procurement Costs
Full Document Available in PDF Interest in passenger rail around the United States has increased in recent years. With their ability to…
News Release
Reducing the Costs of Passenger Rail
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2013 – With passenger rail funding expiring in less than four months, Congress is poised to scrutinize core features of the…
Journal of Commerce
Mandatory Switching Proposal for Class I Railroads Draws Fire
“NITL and supporters of its flawed proposal ignore the underlying economics of network industries and seek to require the board to make arbitrary and capricious…
Comment
Reply Comments before the STB in EP 711
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
CEI Slams Senate Vote on Marketplace Fairness Act
Washington, D.C., May 6, 2013 – Senators crossed a dangerous line today when they voted to approve the dubiously named Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 743),…
CBN
FAA Blames Flight Delays on Cuts, GOP Blames Politics
Bill Frezza, a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the delays represent a political calculation. "I don't think there's any doubt right now…
Townhall
Libertarians (And Fiscal Conservatives) Should Oppose Road Socialism
Libertarians and transport economists for decades have advocated tolling as an alternative to fuel taxes, which have…
National Review
The Surge in Freight Rail Investment
Marc Scribner of the regulation-averse Competitive Enterprise Institute has more recently argued that it is unlikely that cost-based rate ceiling would prove beneficial, as…
News Release
TSA Still Isn’t Complying With the Law on Body Scanners
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27, 2013 — Yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) as required by a court…
Red Alert Politics
TSA finally agrees to comply with 2011 court order requiring them to take comments on use of full body scanners
“I wouldn’t applaud TSA for doing this since they were required by the D.C. Circuit to open this proceeding by the end of the month,”…
Study
Slow Train Coming?
After a century of severe regulation nearly brought the United States railroad industry to ruin, policy makers in the 1970s began a process that ultimately…
News Release
Railroad Industry Will Suffer Under Proposed Rate Regulations
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 12, 2013 – A new study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute strongly warns against recent efforts to re-regulate the railroad…
Washington Post
In Virginia and Washington, Republicans back tax hikes
Marc Scribner, a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was especially harsh toward the governor. “McDonnell is fast proving himself to be the Charlie Crist…
Washington Examiner
Is General Motors creating a subprime auto loan bubble?
"It's becoming Fannie Motors," Competitive Enterprise Institute finance scholar John Berlau told McMorris, referring to the government-backed housing lender Fannie Mae. "They're still using…
Watchdog
Lawmakers bypass Medicaid on way to tax-laden transportation bill
“Gov. McDonnell is fast proving himself to be the Charlie Crist of the Mid-Atlantic,” Competitive Enterprise Institute transportation fellow Marc Scribner said in a disparaging…
News Release
CEI Blasts Virginia House of Delegates Transportation Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 22, 2013 – With overwhelming support from establishment Virginia Republicans, a modified version of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s monstrously irresponsible transportation plan…
National Review
Virginia’s Transportation Mess
Virginia’s transportation-funding system’s drive toward socialism seems to veering even further left. Readers may remember Governor McDonnell’s plan to increase funding…
News Release
Troubled Virginia Transportation Plan Needs Re-Start
Washington, D.C. – February 6, 2013 – As Virginia’s state Senate considers a bill that largely embodies Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed overhaul of state…
Richmond Times-Dispatch
McDonnell’s transportation plan veers off-course
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan has earned critics on both the left and right. On the left, many are upset the governor’s plan would transfer…
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Gov. McDonnell’s Transportation Plan
One News Now
Politics in Transportation
So far, the list of potential replacements includes Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and National Transportation Safety Board chairman Deborah Hersman. Regardless, Marc Scribner of…
Politico
TSA pulls plug on ‘naked’ body scanners
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has questioned how TSA got the scanners in the first place — and if they even work. “Public and expert comments…
Washington Post
Sales Tax, Gas Tax, Mileage Tax: How To Pay For America’s Roads?
On the right, many groups take issue with McDonnell's plan to rely on sales taxes for roadway funds. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think…
Washington Post
McDonnell’s tax plan draws heat from across the spectrum
The focus on general sales tax revenues, rather than a tax on those who use the roads, also raised eyebrows. The Competitive Enterprise Institute said…
News Release
Gov. McDonnell’s Transportation Tax Plan a Bad Deal for Virginians
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 9, 2013 — Yesterday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell released his transportation funding plan. His proposal would eliminate the gasoline tax, making…
Project M
Great lowered expectations
The final bill would in turn be partially funded by the $7 billion in federal tax revenues gained as a result of corporations’ reduced tax-deductible…
Project M
What the Government Doesn’t Get About Fuel Economy
Vehicle prices that are too high for average families to afford is a big problem. Easy and affordable access to personal transportation (automobiles) is one…
Washington Post
Driverless Cars Are On the Way. Here’s How Not to Regulate Them.
Nevada, Florida and California have all legalized driverless cars, and the District is considering whether to follow suit. The goal is worthwhile, and the potential…
Wall Street Journal
Letter to the Editor: ‘Infostructure’ Is Fine but Roads Are Still Essential
Mr. Mead correctly identifies three major problems facing infrastructure funding: nimbyism, cronyism and an outdated vision of what infrastructure ought to be. However, there is…
Washington Examiner
How did the U.S. fall behind Canada in air traffic safety?
From Sean Higgins article in The Washington Examiner: We wouldn't have to run a lot of these risks in the first place if the United…
Washington Examiner
Government of unions, by unions, for unions
In 2009, the U.S. government bailed out the auto industry, ostensibly to save the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who work for automakers and their…
Washington Examiner
Bailout Losses
John Berlau Featured in Special Report on Auto Bailouts…
Washington Examiner
After Billions Of Taxpayer Dollars, Green Transportation Is A Bust
Ethanol as government energy policy has been an economic and environmental bust. There’s little debate: it inflates motor fuel prices, while compromising the environment. And…
The American Spectator
Worst Congress Ever?
It's no surprise that 60 percent of Americans, according to a new poll from Public Policy Polling for the leftist Daily Kos website, think that…
QC Online
Editorial: Naked truth about TSA
From an editorial in The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus: The fact that TSA is pursuing the case is no surprise given…
McClatchy DC
TSA Flouts the Law on Body Scanners
Also appeared in: The Charlotte Observer, Tulsa World, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Press of Atlantic City, and Juneau Empire. For more than…
News Release
CEI Files Amici Curiae Brief Calling on TSA to Follow the Law
Washington, D.C., July 19, 2012 – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should be compelled to at last give the public an opportunity to comment…
Legal Brief
Brief of Amici Curiae Supporting EPIC’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus (EPIC v. DHS)
In the last half decade, as millions of Americans have undergone AIT screening by the TSA, none have been afforded an opportunity to comment on…
Heartland Institute
Enviro Groups Rally Against Fast-Tracking California High-Speed Rail
From Kenneth Artz's article on Heartlander Digital Magazine: Marc Scribner, the land-use and transportation policy analyst for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, agrees, saying,…
One News Now
Roads funding at dispute, new options exist
From Chris Woodward's column in OneNewsNow: Marc Scribner, land-use and transportation policy analyst for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, believes things will reach a…
Forbes
California Cities Go Bankrupt, But Bullet Train Barrels On
If we didn’t have California as a case study of fiscal insanity, someone would have to invent it. Nowhere else better illustrates what happens when…
Daily Caller
Senate highway bill contains ‘smoothing’ pension gimmick
From Angela Malik's article on The Daily Caller: Marc Scribner, a transportation analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, explained that smoothing “in theory…
Wall Street Journal
The Road to Fiscal Hell
From Stephen Moore's column in The Wall Street Journal: Without the drilling money the bill elevates fiscal accounting hocus pocus to new heights.
Politico
Transpo Bill Briefings Go Late
From Adam Snider and Burgess Everett's post in Politico's Morning Transportation: The Competitive Enterprise Institute isn’t exactly heartened that pension smoothing is going…
News Release
Threat of Pension Fund Bailouts Lurks in Senate Highway Bill
Washington, D.C., June 27, 2012 – Hidden in the ever-expanding Senate Highway Bill (S. 1813) is a provision that would make the already serious…
Cato At Liberty
Taking a Stand against Nanny Grants
From Walter Olson's post at Cato @ Liberty: As The Hill reports, and Marc Scribner relates in more detail at CEI “Open Market,”…
News Release
Report: How to Fix Surface Transportation in Massachusetts
Washington, D.C., June 12, 2012 – Massachusetts, like other states, faces problems in funding its transportation infrastructure needs. A new report from the Competitive…
Study
Fixing Surface Transportation in Massachusetts
If all highway funding responsibility were to be devolved to the states, additional revenue must be found. Innovative financing, modern electronic tolling, and new roadway…
News Release
House Fails to Pass Taxpayer-Protection Measure
Washington, D.C., June 8, 2012 – Congress today failed in an 82-323 vote to end general revenue bailouts of the Highway Trust Fund. Rep.
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter to Surface Transportation Reauthorization Conferees Supporting the Broun Motion to Instruct
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Member of…
Letters
Coalition Letter to Surface Transportation Bill Conferees
Full Document Available in PDF CEI signed a coalition letter to House…
Newsday
Transportation bill stymied in Congress
From Alfonso A. Castillo's article in Newsday: Marc Scribner, a spokesman for the Competitive Enterprise Institute — a think tank that advocates limited government —…
Letters
Coalition Letter to Minnesota Legislature on MnPASS
Full Document Avilable in PDF Dear Members of the Minnesota House and Senate, Highway congestion during peak traffic times is an ongoing…
One News Now
New Cars Affordable to Fewer People
From Chris Woodward's column on OneNewsNow: Marlo Lewis, senior fellow for the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI),…
News Release
Highway Bill Needs Real Reform, Not Politics as Usual
Washington, D.C., April 17, 2012—With another Tax Day upon us, taxpayers have something else to worry about: potential action on pending multi-billion dollar highway program…
One News Now
Congress Must Act Now on Federal Transportation Bill
From a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial: As we noted in a February editorial, that bill has received significant opposition from such conservative and…
Politico
Highway Bill Now Over to John Boehner
From Kathryn A. Wolfe's article in Poltico: Marc Scribner, writing on the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s blog, urged the House to reject the Senate…
News Release
Senate Considers Ill-Conceived Ban on Highway Tolls
Washington, D.C., March 12, 2012—The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on additional amendments to the massive surface transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress…
News Release
Senate Highway Bill Offers More Big Government Business as Usual
Washington, D.C., March 1, 2012 –The U.S. Senate is currently considering the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21, S. 1813),…
BBC
The American bus revival
Transit ridership, and public transport in general, is growing faster than car mileage, which appears to have peaked in the US, according to American…
Twin Cities
A Highway Bill Everyone Can Hate
Also appeared in: The Arizona Daily Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Press of Atlantic City, South Bend Tribune, The Bellingham Herald,…
Twin Cities
Coastal Drilling
From a letter to the editor in The Ventura County Star: I’m terribly disappointed that …
Twin Cities
Republicans rebel against an oily transportation bill
From Brian Merchant’s article on Salon: A burgeoning number of Republicans think not. Especially after the grim CBO forecast, fiscal conservatives are backing away. Influential…
Twin Cities
House Republicans Push New Oil Drilling to Fund Road Projects
From The Los Angeles Times‘ Nation Now Blog: A coalition of groups, including Taxpayers for Common Sense and the pro-market Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Twin Cities
Today House Republicans Are Set To Approve Barack Obama’s Latest Stimulus Plan
Twin Cities
Highway Bill Generates Bipartisan Backlash
Twin Cities
User Pays
From Politico‘s Morning Transportation: A coalition is urging the House to stick to the user-pays tradition of financing transportation, saying that it is…
Twin Cities
Highway Bill Put on Hold for Now
From Geoff Holtzman’s article on Talk Radio News Service: Earlier this week, the pro-environment National Resources Defense Council teamed with a coalition of…
Letters
Coalition Letter Urges Congress to Reject Linking Drilling Revenues to the Highway Trust Fund
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and…
Twin Cities
Federal Highway Aid to Indiana Could Dip
International Business Times
Highway-Oriented House Transportation Bill: Why It’s Hated by Everyone
International Business Times
Transportation bill takes wrong road
International Business Times
House Transportation Bill Doesn’t Deserve Passage
International Business Times
In the House, a transportation train wreck
International Business Times
Transportation Analysts Critique House Proposal to Expand Oil & Gas Drilling
International Business Times
House of Representatives Transportation Bill Fraught With Bad Ideas
International Business Times
Boehner Downplays ‘Stimulus’ of Highway Bill
E&E News
As House rolls out highway bill, clash looms over drilling provisions
E&E News
Worst. Transportation. Bill. Ever.
Politico
Opposition to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Takes Right Turn
Politico
Morning Transportation
Politico
This Is Not a Drill: Highway Lobby Trying to Push Tranpo Bill Through Congress
Torque News
NRDC Says to Speaker Boehner’s Energy Plan, Don’t Drill and Drive
Switchboard
House Republicans Hijacking Transportation Bill to Drill, Baby, Drill
The Volokh Conspiracy
Texts, Lies and Distracted Driving
Washington Times
Inside the Beltway: Driving Force
Orange County Register
Driven to Distraction by Cellphone Ban
Overlawyered
