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Can Trump, Congress Undo EPA’s Midnight Fuel Economy Regulation?
January 13, 2017 6:24 PMThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized—14 months ahead of schedule—its Mid Term Evaluation (MTE) of greenhouse gas emission standards for model year (MY) 2022-2025 passenger cars and light trucks. The EPA was in such a rush to dump a fait accompli on the incoming Trump administration that it apparently forgot to post anything about this multi-billion dollar decision on the agency website’s landing page.
The EPA’s action locks in greenhouse gas (GHG) standards the agency tentatively adopted in 2012—more than a decade before millions of the covered vehicles are even manufactured. GHG standards are...
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Reaction to Reported EPA Fuel Efficiency Rule, Part 1: The Politics of the Matter
January 13, 2017 12:00 PMIn 2012, the Obama administration finalized fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The standards exceed what is currently technologically feasible given consumer preferences, so a key safety valve of the 2012 regulation is a requirement that the federal government undertake a midterm evaluation by April 2018, pursuant to which federal regulators would decide whether the 2025 goal was achievable.
On November 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unexpectedly announced that it had conducted a midterm review, and was proposing to adjust the 2025 standard to 51.4 mpg, and thus...
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"I, Whiskey" on the Festival Circuit
January 13, 2017 8:17 AMThis weekend the producers of the CEI film I, Whiskey: The Human Spirit will be in Roswell, Georgia for the Southern Shorts Film Festival and Awards Presentation, where I, Whiskey has been honored with an Award of Excellence and is eligible for Best Documentary of Fall 2016. You can learn more about the festival and its previous award winners from the Summer 2016 awards presentation below.
Next month the I, Whiskey producers will be back on the road for the Oxford Film Festival in Oxford, Mississippi. The...
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New York Times Highlights Minimum Wage Tradeoffs
January 13, 2017 6:58 AMMinimum wage increases have obvious winners, which is why they are so popular. Their tradeoffs are less obvious. The New York Times finally seems to be becoming aware of this basic fact. The headline to Noam Scheiber’s January 10 column admits that “...
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Free Market Coalition Supports Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator
January 12, 2017 4:58 PMToday more than 20 nonprofit advocacy organizations, in a public letter to members of the Senate, urged confirmation of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The signatories pointed out Pruitt’s commitment to federalism, the rule of law, and sensible environmental policy:
Mr. Pruitt led a multi-state effort opposing the EPA’s unlawful attempt to take over the nation’s electricity grid under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The EPA’s plan would shutter an estimated 40 GW of reliable and affordable energy, unnecessarily harming American families for little to no environmental benefit.
In recent years, the EPA...
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Iain Murray Addresses Political Fragmentation in the EU
January 12, 2017 3:52 PMThis afternoon our friends at the Heritage Foundation hosted a fascinating discussion of European politics with CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray. This event, “...
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Crash Course in Gambling Law for Would-be Attorney General Sessions
January 12, 2017 3:14 PMAnticipating intense scrutiny from Senate Democrats, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) dedicated much of his confirmation hearing on Tuesday to insisting that as Attorney General of the United States, he would be committed to “fairness and impartiality and equal justice under the law.” The ...
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Chamber of Commerce CEO Lays Out 2017 Agenda
January 12, 2017 1:42 PMYesterday morning U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue gave his annual “State of American Business Address” to a packed hall at the Chamber’s H Street...
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Endangered Species Bee Listing Could Harm Bees, Butterflies, other Pollinators
January 12, 2017 12:02 PMIf you care about the survival of bees and other pollinators in the United States, you should be concerned about yesterday’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement that has placed the rusty patched bumble bee on the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) list. Although...
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Scrutinizing Sen. Carper's Questions for EPA Nominee Pruitt
January 11, 2017 1:33 PMYesterday, The Hill’s Timothy Cama reported that Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is unwilling to...