After pledging just six months ago to rigorously review existing and proposed regulations to ensure their cost-effectiveness, the Obama administration has continued on its track of frantically issuing regulations that will further hamper economic growth. Just last week, the White House outlined a plan to issue a more stringent set of CAFE regulations this September [...]  More »

Though it’s already difficult to overstate the tight knit relationship between the Center for American Progress and the Obama administration, an event this month left no illusions that CAP’s claim to independence is itself an illusion. In fact, the “Clearing the Air” panel—hosted by CAP and featuring former White House Energy and Climate Change advisor [...]  More »

Congress appears to have gotten religion when it comes to spending. Last week, the Senate voted overwhelmingly for an amendment to end the $6 billion annual subsidy for ethanol. Though some commentators have been heralding Thursday’s vote as the beginning of the end for special interest handouts, most doubt whether the underlying bill will pass [...]  More »

Ethanol is no longer politically sacrosanct. The U.S. Senate sent that message last week when it voted 73 – 27 to eliminate the 45 cent per gallon tax credit for ethanol refiners. Not surprisingly, Democratic Leadership is attempting to parlay this vote into momentum to raise taxes on U.S. oil and gas companies. Though at [...]  More »

Each passing week brings more evidence that our political system is dysfunctional. Take, for example, Medicare. Weighing in at a cost of $500 billion annually, the program’s expenditures are out of control; analysts forecast its spending could grow to account for as much as 10 percent of GDP in 2080. Attempting to rectify the problem, leaders [...]  More »

Almost forty years ago, the Arab oil embargo made the U.S. public acutely aware of its reliance on foreign oil. Responding to voters’ fear, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and, in it, enacted the first corporate fuel efficiency standards (CAFE) — set at 18 mpg for automobiles. In addition to the influence [...]  More »

Earlier this week, Steven Hayward of the American Enterprise Institute published an interesting note on “clean energy” investments. First, he pointed out that the definition of clean energy is not precise but generally is thought to mean solar, wind, and hydropower (although environmentalists oppose hydropower where ever it is used.) If the term means non-carbon [...]  More »

Former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is touring the country to promote a national clean energy policy. Working with the Pew Clean Energy Project, she’s pushing Congress to impose a renewable energy mandate, quadruple taxpayer spending on “green” energy research, and increase electric vehicle sales. Granholm along with others lobbying for renewables regularly cites three points [...]  More »

Exactly four months ago today, President Obama issued an executive order for federal agencies to repeal any regulations that may be outdated and/or deleterious to the economy. Today, regulators must turn in their plans to accomplish this goal. Even before the White House makes these proposals public, it’s possible to predict the content (or more specifically, [...]  More »

Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) filed cloture Monday night on Senate Bill 940. In layman’s terms, that means the Senate will hold a vote tonight on Sen. Menendez’s (D-NJ) proposal to selectively eliminate so-called “subsidies” for major oil companies. DC demagoguery knows no bounds. (And politicians wonder why the public holds them in such low [...]  More »

During a 1980 presidential debate, Ronald Reagan countered a mischaracterization by President Carter with a simple — though now infamous — phrase: “There you go again.” The five CEOs summoned before the Senate Finance Committee last week could have duly applied the same line. Every time U.S. gasoline prices take a big jump, political opportunism [...]  More »

If the Obama administration intended the release of its draft “Transportation Opportunities Act” to serve as a trial balloon, it’s finding that it floats as well as lead. Buried in this massive document for reauthorizing transportation programs was a proposal to tax vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Under the plan, the federal government would require U.S. [...]  More »