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

News Release
EPA’s decision to allow California to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 reversed after President Trump signs CRA resolution
California’s green light from the Environmental Protection Agency to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 was revoked after Congress passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA)…

Blog
Clearing the tracks: CEI’s three-point blueprint to DOT deregulation
Background The Trump administration has made good on some of its promises of deregulation – namely with two executive orders from the beginning of this…

Blog
Senate pulls plug on California’s gas car ban
The US Senate on Thursday voted 51-46 for H.J. Res.88, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the Environmental Protection…
Search Posts
Opposing Views
What’s With Obama and His Obsession With Trains?
In 2000, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment (the “Monorail Initiative“) authorizing the creation of a high-speed intercity rail network. However, as the economy slowed…
Opposing Views
General Motors Still Losing Billions (Letter to the Editor)
The Washington Times was right to criticize the Obama administration for its misleading hype about General Motors repaying $6.7 billion of the $50…
Washington Times
Tolls, More Freeways Would Improve Transport (Letter to the Editor)
The editorial "Freeways are the solution to congestion" (Comment & Analysis, April 12) got it half-right. Widening roads to support more cars is far less…
Newsletter
Tax Day, Open Skies and Toyota’s Legal Tactics
Tax Day inspires out an array of protests and demonstrations. The U.S. and EU signed an “Open Skies” agreement last month, which purportedly allows airlines…
Washington Times
Fly the Free Skies
When the United States and European Union first signed their Open Skies aviation agreement in 2007, the U.S. airlines got the better of the…
Newsletter
Fuel Efficiency, Imports, and H1N1
The Obama Administration plans to increase fuel efficiency standards. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative releases the 2010 National Trade Estimate report. The Centers…
Newsletter
Compact Fluorescents, Toyota, and Health Care
USA Today quotes Policy Analyst Michelle Minton saying that CEI will be celebrating the development of the compact fluorescent lightbulb. Members of Congress interrogate Toyota…
Newsletter
Finance, Trade and Toyota
Sen. Chris Dodd has introduced a new financial reform bill. U.S. Sugar is lobbying to keep government restrictions on sugar imports. The Washington Post’s coverage…
Newsletter
Court Nominations, the TSA, and Climate Change Biases
President Obama nominates left-leaning Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit court. President Obama chooses retired Army Gen. Robert A. Harding to lead the Transportation Security…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: January – February 2010
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the January-February 2010 issue: …
Newsletter
Immigration, Bake Sales and Snow Removal
The Wall Street Journal reports that E-Verify, the federal database intended to track undocumented workers, actually fails 54% of the time. The New York City…
Heartland
TSA Rules Threaten In-Flight Technology Use
Newsletter
Child Support Disputes, NFL Claims “Who Dat?” and Anti-terrorism Police Drills
Virginia legislators vote down a bill which would have forced non-custodial parents to pay child support for their children through college.
Heartland
Letter to the Editor: TSA Doesn’t Need Any More Obstacles
The Examiner was right to oppose unionizing the Transportation Security Administration, which would harm airline security and reduce its effectiveness. But the TSA is…
Heartland
Stimulus Package Forces States to Raise Taxes
The federal government’s $800 billion stimulus package, which failed to cut unemployment, is now forcing states and local governments to raise taxes.
Newsletter
EPA in Court, Anti-Terrorism Policies and the Hidden Health Care Tax
Recent greenhouse gas regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency are sparking legal opposition. Security agencies respond to a suspected terrorist incident onboard a Detroit-bound…
Heartland
U.S. Government Undermining Air and Rail Security
An alleged terrorist from Nigeria has been charged with plotting to blow up an airliner. He carried explosives onto a plane and set…
Newsletter
Probing Treasury, Car-Free Conflicts and a Quiet Hurricane Season
Controversy continues to swirl around Treasury Department documents estimating the costs of cap and trade regulation. Observance of World Car-Free Day yields conflicting opinions about…
San Francisco Examiner
Aristocrats Can Afford Car-Free Days
In the early 1800s, when railroads first began to spread across Great Britain, the Duke of Wellington reportedly sneered that this innovation would “only encourage…
Newsletter
Opposing Net Neutrality, TSA Unionizing and Banning Soft Toilet Paper
The Washington Post editorializes against the FCC’s proposed “net neutrality” regulations. The American Federation of Government Employees seeks to unionize airport safety screeners and other…
Detroit News
Car-Free Crusade is Absurd
Newsletter
Obama at the UN, the Healthcare Tax and the Costs of Cap and Trade
President Obama call for a “new era of global engagement” in addressing climate change and other issues. Economists debate the financial impact that a healthcare…
Newsletter
Obama on Global Warming, Blocking Net Neutrality and Car-Free Day
President Obama delivers a speech before the United Nations, saying that the U.S. is “determined to act” on global warming. Republican senators announce legislation that…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Treasury’s Global Warming Memos and Car-Free Day
The Federal Communications Commission plans to introduce so-called “net neutrality” regulations for ISPs, including wireless companies. Treasury Department memos estimating the cost of the White…
News Release
Anti-Automobile Activists Gear up for “World Car-Free Day”
As organizers prepare to observe “World Car-Free Day” tomorrow, the Competitive Enterprise Institute would like to remind observers and participants of the value of personal…
Newsletter
The Costs of Cap and Trade, Deadly Auto Regulations and Rockefeller on Health Care
The U.S. Treasury Department admits that a “cap and trade” system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions could cost every household $1,761 a year. New fuel…
Detroit News
9/11 Ignored-Obama Undermines Airline and Train Security
In the aftermath of 9/11, Congress foolishly shifted airline security screening to the inept Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which has failed to detect explosive…
Salon.com
Ted Kennedy… the Deregulator?
Salon.com
Kennedy’s Lasting Gift to America: Airline Deregulation
Tributes are pouring in for Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer late Tuesday evening at the age of 77.
Salon.com
Slothful Bureaucracy Fails to Protect the Public
Gene Healy was right to criticize the bloated bureaucracy that is the Department of Homeland Security. Its worst feature is the Transportation Security Administration…
Club For Growth
Checked Baggage Regulations
Club For Growth
Perverts Get Stimulus Money, Not Roads and Bridges
“Join your fellow pervs for some explicit, twisted fun,” urged a recipient of more than $250,000 from Obama’s $800 billion stimulus package, which received…
Club For Growth
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it can somehow…
Club For Growth
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Untouched in Financial Overhaul
The mortgage crisis was caused largely by the reckless government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by federal affordable-housing mandates. But Obama’s…
Club For Growth
Obama Administration = Waste, Corruption, Corporate Welfare
Rapidly-rising Medicare spending already threatens “to crush the federal budget,” and much Medicare spending is wasteful, yet the Obama Administration claims it…
News Release
CEI Hails Supreme Court’s Freezing of Chrysler Bankruptcy
CEI Hails Supreme Court’s Freezing of Chrysler Bankruptcy Chrysler, GM bankruptcies on Collision Course with Constitution Washington, D.C., June 8, 2009— Statement of John…
News Release
Obama Should Respect Role of Bankruptcy Court, Judge Should Put Brakes on Government Motors
Washington, D.C. June 1, 2009—Statement by John Berlau, Director of CEI’s Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs: Last week, in nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the…
Newsletter
Ethanol, Mortgages and General Motors
Efforts to subsidize ethanol production as a remedy to global warming hit resistance. The mortgage industry struggles to improve disclosure guarantees. Legal observers critique the…
Newsletter
Energy Rationing, Credit Cards and Car-Sharing in Maryland
The energy rationing bill sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) is approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Club For Growth
Auto emissions deal a win for California
Club For Growth
President Barak Obama, automakers,California agree on emissions standards
Newsletter
Chrysler’s Future, Chevron in Ecuador and Flex-Fuel Cars on the Road
A bankruptcy judge approves Chrysler’s request to start spending $4.5 billion in government loans. Ecuador sues Chevron for $27 billion over alleged environmental damage from…
Newsletter
Consumer Credit, Social Security and Swine Flu
The House of Representatives votes to limit credit card fees and interest rates. President Obama endorses raising Social Security taxes. Vice President Biden advises Americans…
News Release
Vice President Uses Swine Flu as Anti-Stimulus
The Competitive Enterprise Institute calls on Vice President Biden to repudiate remarks made this morning on “The Today Show” about air travel in the context…
Wall Street Journal
Small Cars Are Dangerous Cars
How Fuel economy zealots can kill you.
Tulsa Business
Latest Study, Again, Shows Small Car Safety Risk
News Release
CEI Comment on Obama Firing of GM CEO Wagoner
Washington, D.C., March 30, 2009— John Berlau Director, Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs…
Tulsa Business
The Auto Bailout We Need
GM and Chrysler have come back for more taxpayer money, which is exactly what everybody warned would happen when the first bailout was granted…
News Release
Senate Testimony Masks a Personal Financial Agenda
Al Gore, Corporate Lobbyist?…
Newsletter
A New Agenda for Congress, Geithner Confirmed and New Rules for Car Makers
Democrats debate how far to go in compromising with Republicans in order to pass major legislation. The Senate confirms Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary by…