FREEDOM WORKS 04/17/2018

1. FINALLY! Pruitt's EPA Kills Obama's CAFE Standards and Resurrects Consumer Freedom

Via The Daily Caller In early April, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the agency will roll back the previous administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which would have peaked at 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025. Part of the explanation Pruitt gave for why EPA is pulling back from the Obama-era determination is that it “made assumptions about the standard that didn’t comport with reality.” Reality would have included a serious price increase for pickups and SUVs, about $3,000 for the price of a new vehicle, according to the National Auto Dealers Association. To the many coastal, urban, and suburban liberals who populated the previous administration, that would have been fine. The whole purpose of regulations like CAFE is to increase the price of goods they think are undesirable, like gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs, and to nudge consumers into purchasing the products and services they think are desirable, such as hybrid or electric sedans with great gas mileage. But fantastic gas mileage isn’t the end-all, be-all of utility in an automobile. READ MORE HERE

2. The Trillion Dollar Myth

By FreedomWorks Senior Economic Contributor Stephen Moore via The Washington Times There is an old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and we’ve learned that again with the Congressional Budget Office and its latest highly misleading fiscal forecast. For years, we’ve been trying to get the CBO to use real-world scoring that reflects how businesses, workers and financial markets react to changes in tax rates. But no go. This is why the left is having a field day with the CBO forecast that deficits under President Trump will average a trillion dollars a year for the next decade. This is supposed to be a result of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, but hold on here. Take a look at the nearby chart. It shows the deficit forecast with and without the tax cuts. They are effectively the same. READ MORE HERE

3. Time for Congress to Reform the Renewable Fuel Standard

Via RealClearEnergy Created by Congress in 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a program that requires American refiners to blend renewable fuels — primarily ethanol — into the fuel that consumers across the country use to fuel their cars and trucks. Under the law, ethanol and biodiesel producers receive a Renewable Identification Number (RIN) for each gallon of renewable fuel they produce, which is transferred to refiners who purchase and blend the renewable fuel into gasoline and diesel. These compliance costs are then passed on to drivers in the retail price of fuel. READ MORE HERE

4. Secretary Zinke Gets it Right: Let's Drill Offshore

Via The Washington Examiner Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to vastly expand offshore oil and gas production, and politicians from some coastal states are livid. The Senate Energy Committee recently hauled Zinke to Capitol Hill for intense questioning. Lawmakers from Washington, Oregon, and other coastal states demanded he delay his planned expansion. They're concerned that offshore drilling could harm the environment. Some state officials have even threatened to sue the administration to halt the plan. Zinke shouldn't let this opposition shake his resolve. His offshore drilling plan will create hundreds of thousands of American jobs while safeguarding the environment. READ MORE HERE

5. Jobs Are the Ultimate Justice Reform

Via The Hill It’s tough to administer a good criminal justice system. Locking people up is one of the state’s most formidable powers: It involves political and controversial trade-offs, it’s expensive when done well, and it’s even more expensive when done poorly. But it is in all of our interests — including fiscal responsibility, public safety and constitutional governance — to fix and improve our laws, police practices, court systems and jail, prison and re-entry programs. READ MORE HERE