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This week in ridiculous regulations: Space debris and dried prunes
The privately-built Odysseus spacecraft became the first American moon lander since 1972. President Biden announced new Russian sanctions in response to opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s…
Blog
Federal courts to the rescue on bad appliance regulations?
The US Supreme Court recently heard a case that could impact how much deference judges give to regulatory agencies. To be certain, any relief…
Blog
FDA power grab would hurt labs, patients, rule of law
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed to amend one of its rules for the purpose of unlawfully expanding its jurisdiction over diagnostic tests.
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Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: Space debris and dried prunes
The privately-built Odysseus spacecraft became the first American moon lander since 1972. President Biden announced new Russian sanctions in response to opposition leader Aleksey Navalny’s…
Blog
Federal courts to the rescue on bad appliance regulations?
The US Supreme Court recently heard a case that could impact how much deference judges give to regulatory agencies. To be certain, any relief…
Blog
FDA power grab would hurt labs, patients, rule of law
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed to amend one of its rules for the purpose of unlawfully expanding its jurisdiction over diagnostic tests.
Blog
Cold truth about government pushing electric: Natural gas is much cheaper
The Department of Energy (DOE) has repeatedly documented that using natural gas in homes is far cheaper than using electricity.This hasn’t stopped the Biden…
Blog
It’s time to bring reason to emotional AI debates
Artificial intelligence (AI) promises immense benefits, ranging from revolutionizing healthcare diagnostics and treatment to radically improving transportation safety. However, as this rapidly advancing technology spreads,…
Real Clear Markets
Barbie, Hot Wheels, and the Market for Lemons
The Barbie movie is more than a bit of good fun. It also teaches an economics lesson about lemons—the old slang term for defective goods, not the…
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
This week in ridiculous regulations: walnut marketing and railroad dispatchers
The number of new final regulations this year topped 2,000, ending the week at 2,007. Economically significant regulations may be a thing of the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby bumpers and AI campaign ads
A wildfire in Hawaii killed more than 100 people. Donald Trump was indicted again. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from magnificent ramshorns to pasteurized…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: steroids and cyber scholarships
Unemployment remained at 3.5 percent, and Donald Trump got indicted again. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging from cooking products to squid harvests. On to…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: dishwashers and shore leave
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, and GDP grew at a healthy 2.4 percent annualized rate. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
CEI leads coalition opposing crazy regulatory crackdown on dishwashers
The American public remains angry over federal meddling in gas stoves – for good reason, given that not one but two Biden administration regulatory agencies…
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…
Blog
Allergy sufferers to Congress: Please stop trying to help!
The Law of Unintended Consequences gained another data point recently. A bipartisan bill requiring products with sesame to be specially labeled has resulted in…
Blog
European Union says phones and tablets must be easier to break by 2027
The European Parliament agreed on new rules last week that would require smartphone and tablet manufacturers to make it easier for users to remove…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: baby formula labels and room air conditioners
Happy Memorial Day, everyone. The Supreme Court upheld property rights in a 9-0 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, in which CEI joined…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: lowfat yogurt and halibut sharing
Debt ceiling negotiations remain stalled, and will likely remain that way until the deadline draws nearer. The Supreme Court left Section 230 intact. A…
Blog
Don’t drink the ‘right to repair’ Kool-Aid
“What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare posed the question in Romeo & Juliet to illustrate that a rose, even if called by a different name,…
Blog
Screw up the dishwashers, save the planet?
The Department of Energy (DOE) proposed more stringent energy and water efficiency standards for dishwashers Friday, despite the fact that the regulations currently on…
Fox News
Biden’s Cold War: Anti-Air Conditioner Regulations Keep Piling Up
Think Biden administration regulators have it in for gas stoves? Just wait until you learn what they have in store for air conditioners.
Blog
Competitive Enterprise Institute Leads Coalition Comment Opposing Department of Energy Stove Regulation
On April 17, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 30 free-market organizations filed a comment with the Department of Energy (DOE) critical of its proposed…
Fox News
Biden admin receives backlash from nearly two dozen groups for move cracking down on gas stoves
Fox News cites CEI’s comments to the DOE on gas stoves: Led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the groups …
Regulatory Transparency Project
AUDIO: Explainer Episode 48 – The FDA & the Practice of Medicine: Possible Regulation of Off-Label Prescriptions
Senior Fellow Joel Zinberg joins the Regulatory Transparency Project to discuss possibly regulation of off-label prescriptions: On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations…
The Dispatch
Of Course Your House Is Killing You
There’s nothing as bad for you as living well. Here’s a nice memory: My wife and I are in Aspen, sitting by a fire that…
Blog
FDA’s Juul Ban Part of Deadly War on Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it denied the application of Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette, to market its…
Blog
Banning Menthol Cigarettes Will Do Nothing to Promote Racial Justice
Public support for the War on Drugs has never been lower, due in no small part to increased awareness about the devastation drug criminalization…
Letters
36 Organizations Sign Coalition Letter Condemning Menthol Prohibition Proposal
We, the undersigned 36 organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the United States, strongly urge you to reject any proposed ban on menthol…
The Vaping Post
The US Vape Industry Grows Discouraged as The FDA Rejects Thousands of PMTAs
The Vaping Post cites CEI on the vapor industry: A recent blog on Competitive Enterprise Institute’s website highlighted that the amount of applications received by…
Reason
Since the FDA Has Not Approved Any Vaping Products, All of Them Are Now ‘Subject to Enforcement Action’
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarette regulations: “There is robust evidence that non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes help adults quit smoking,” notes Competitive Enterprise Institute senior…
Reason
Setting the Record Straight on Heated Tobacco Products
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton e-cigaretts: But as Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out, the survey used…
News One
All Cigarettes Matter: Why Ban Just Menthols? Statistics Show 77% Of Black Smokers Prefer Them
News One cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol cigarettes: “The issue of tobacco control is no different, Michelle Minton recently wrote for the Competitive Enterprise…
Inside Sources
Anti-Plastics Would Undermine Our Economy and Environment
Many valuable plastic products and thousands of jobs could disappear nearly overnight if fool-hearted members of Congress have their way. They propose legislation that may…
The Washington Post
FDA Promises to Move to Ban Menthol in Cigarettes, Flavored Cigars Within a Year
The Washington Post cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on menthol cigarettes: The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank, warned that “banning menthol cigarettes…
Tobacco Reporter
Mail Ban Forces Vape Shops Out of Business
Tobacco Reporter cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes and a USPS mail ban: Writing in the National Review, Michelle Minton,…
Marketplace
Spending, Relief Bill Phases Out Planet Warming Refrigerants
Marketplace cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on refrigerants. This measure hits two sweet spots: the environment and jobs. A key reason it enjoys bipartisan…
Op-Eds
Cannabis Legalization Clears One Hurdle, but Political Parties Must Compromise to Succeed
Last week, the House passed an historic bill to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. Despite growing public and political support for such a measure,…
Study
EPA Should Revise Its Assessment of Medical Supply Sterilant
The COVID-19 crisis is a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining critical medical supplies. Not only must policy makers ensure that the market is…
Blog
How Could We Have Known: Prohibiting E-cigarettes Leads to Smuggling and Smoking
Anyone with a passing knowledge of American history is aware of the failures of prohibition. Both the now-repealed ban on alcohol and the ongoing “war…
Blog
How Could We Have Known: Prohibiting E-cigarettes Leads to Smuggling and Smoking
Anyone with a passing knowledge of American history is aware of the failures of prohibition. Both the now-repealed ban on alcohol and the ongoing “war…
Study
The Double Standards of Cannabis and Nicotine
View Full Document as PDF Executive Summary The principal benefit of recreational cannabis, as the name implies, is recreation. Many who enjoy using…
Blog
FDA Rules on E-cigarette Makers Go into Effect Today, to the Detriment of Public Health
The world was simpler in 2009 when Congress enacted a law that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco. Back…
Blog
How the U.S. Spreads Fake Vaping Fears, Part II
In a previous post, CEI's Michelle Minton described how, through the use of statistical hocus pocus, anti-vaping interest have exported vape panic around the world.
Blog
Green Activists’ Unwarranted Attacks on CPSC Nominee Nancy Beck
Left-of-center environmental activists are at it again, maligning the reputation of one of President Trump’s nominees—with little regard for the truth. One of their latest…
The Hill
Trump Admin Moves Ahead with Plans to Weaken Efficiency Standards for Quick Dishwashers
The Hill cites General Counsel Sam Kazman on CEI’s dishwasher petition. “The current dishwasher rules are a royal pain for huge numbers of…
NewsMax
Report: Energy Dept. Seeks to Permit Faster Dishwashers
Newsmax cites CEI’s dishwasher petition. The proposal follows a petition by Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, per the report.
News Release
Trump’s E-Cigarette Flavor Ban Will Jeopardize Public Health
Today the Trump FDA announced a ban on flavored vape products, except for menthol or tobacco flavors. Manufacturers will have 30 days to cease making…
Blog
Mitt Romney Made Millions off Cigarettes, Now He Wants to Kill its Competition
Though they (probably) aren’t car surfing or eating Tide pods, lawmakers and government bureaucrats are as susceptible to passing fads as bored teenagers. For government…
Blog
Blame Anti-Tobacco Advocates for Youth Vaping “Epidemic”
Like most teenage crazes, youth interest in e-cigarettes once seemed a passing fad. In the early years youth vaping skyrocketed, but by 2016 began to…
News Release
CEI Urges Opposition of S. 2754, the “American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019”
In response to the introduction of this bill, CEI Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman said: …
Blog
Tobacco 21: Feel-Good Policy Could Backfire
Amid an outbreak of “vaping-linked” lung illnesses, a campaign of fear against vaping has reached a frenzied peak. For years, the Food and Drug Administration…