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
Congress should short-circuit the nation’s electric vehicle charging program
Congress recently finalized the fiscal year 2026 budget to end the partial government shutdown while spending billions of taxpayer dollars along the way. One line…
Blog
Full steam ahead: How 50 years of deregulation revitalized US freight rail
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, better known as the 4R Act. For much…
News Release
Coalition urges Congress to reject freight rail regulation in transportation bill
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sent a coalition letter to transportation committee chairs in Congress opposing the idea of imposing, as part of must-pass surface…
Search Posts
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…
