It is one of the most contentious but least understood issues now before Congress—one that does not align neatly along party lines and has split the business community. The issue is online piracy, the illegal sale of copyrighted and trademarked products on rogue pirate websites. Since last week, the House… Read more

This week, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation to reform the way federal regulations are made. The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), sponsored by Representative Lamar Smith (R–TX), would require all federal agencies to examine more thoroughly proposed rules before they are adopted while increasing the ability… Read more

Do regulations kill jobs? Not according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV). In a floor speech November 15, Reid argued that the idea that regulations cost jobs was a “myth,” claiming that according to the Labor Department, “only a tiny fraction of layoffs have anything at all to do… Read more

Are regulations being produced by the Obama Administration at a significantly faster rate than under previous administrations? Not at all, say White House officials, arguing that the growing spool of red tape from Washington is just business as usual. “The costs are not out of line by historical standards,” Cass… Read more

Should Congress be held accountable for the regulatory policies of the federal government? Most people would say so, and this week the House Judiciary Committee plans to vote on a bill to make Congress explicitly accountable for federal regulations. Introduced by Representative Geoff Davis (R–KY), H.R. 10, the “Regulations from… Read more

Google—incorporated 13 years ago by college students Larry Page and Sergey Brin—is an American success story. Armed with little more but a graduate thesis and a few algorithms, the firm remade the Internet, providing individuals the world over with unimaginably easy access to information of all kinds. In the process,… Read more

The United States Postal Service (USPS) stands on the brink of financial collapse. According to the Postmaster General, by next month, USPS coffers will be down to a week’s worth of cash.[1] The government-owned enterprise barely avoided default this week when Congress extended the due date for a… Read more

The battle over AT&T’s proposed acquisition of struggling wireless carrier T-Mobile officially began last month when AT&T filed papers with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting approval. The deal seems to be a sensible one, potentially benefiting T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s subscribers.[1] Not so sensible, however, is the process… Read more

Should the FCC be allowed to regulate the Internet? That’s the question facing Congress as it reviews the “net neutrality” rule recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The House Commerce Committee is expected to vote soon on a “resolution of disapproval” to void the regulation. … Read more