Liberty Week

May 16, 2013: A Controversial EPA Nominee

Ryan Young — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:07:06 +0000

The bitter fight over Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee for EPA Administrator, is headed to the Senate floor under a potential filibuster threat. Myron Ebell, Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment, explains that the deeper cause of this political fight is a startling lack of transparency at the EPA that McCarthy is unlikely to fix.

May 8, 2013: The Debate Over Undocumented Immigration

Ryan Young — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:22:25 +0000

CEI Immigration Policy Analyst David Bier is critical of a new Heritage Foundation study that estimates that giving legal status to America’s undocumented immigrants would cost $6.3 trillion over the next 50 years.

May 2, 2013: Small Business Owners Sue Over IRS Obamacare Power Grab

Ryan Young — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:40:28 +0000

Small business owners and individuals in six states, with help from CEI, are suing the IRS over what General Counsel Sam Kazman calls a flagrantly illegal expansion of the Affordable Care Act.

April 25, 2013: Regulations Are Less Than Transparent

Ryan Young — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:29:24 +0000

Every year, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) releases a report on the costs and benefits of the previous year’s new regulations. This year’s report was just released. Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews points out that the report ignores three quarters of all agencies and includes the costs of fewer than one half of one percent of last year’s regulations. Even so, the reported costs are double the previous year’s.

April 18, 2013: CISPA Is the Wrong Approach to Cybersecurity

Ryan Young — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:28:17 +0000

Today, the House passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2013 (CISPA). Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia opposes the bill because it would nullify existing contracts and eliminate the rule of law in certain areas.

April 11, 2013: Reining in Unfunded Mandates

Ryan Young — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:32:26 +0000

Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews warns that the higher the deficit goes, the more tempted the federal government is to resort to unfunded mandates, which don’t appear on the federal budget. He also discusses a reform bill from Rep. Virginia Foxx that would increase transparency and oversight over unfunded mandates, and suggests further reforms.

April 4, 2013: Reining in the CFAA

Ryan Young — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:48:41 +0000

Congress is mulling an update to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) of 1984. Under the CFAA, it is currently a federal crime to enter an incorrect age on your Facebook profile or an incorrect weight on a dating website profile. Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia suggests that the CFAA should be reined in, instead of expanded, as a draft currently circulating around Capitol Hill proposes.

March 28, 2013: The TSA’s Illegal Body Scanners

Ryan Young — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:30:49 +0000

The TSA’s controversial full-body scanners were implemented illegally, since the TSA never put them through the required comment-and-review rulemaking process. Despite a court order, the TSA is still dragging its feet on complying with the law. Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner has the latest developments in the case.

March 21, 2013: A Rainbow on the Right

Ryan Young — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:22:08 +0000

CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, is the largest annual event of its kind. It is also one of the most controversial, due to its exclusion of gay conservative groups such as GOProud. CEI hosted a widely publicized panel discussion at CPAC, titled “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the Coalition, Bringing Tolerance Out of the Closet.” CEI Founder and Chairman Fred Smith, who moderated the panel, reflects on the importance of tolerance and inclusiveness.

March 12, 2013: Sunshine Week

Ryan Young — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:35:10 +0000

This week is Sunshine Week. According to its official website, Sunshine Week is “a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.” Myron Ebell, Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment, is here to talk about CEI’s efforts to increase government transparency.