Coalition letter to Hill: Bill is Affront to Consumers

Today, CEI sent a letter to all members of Congress regarding H.R. 5034. This is the bill that would allow states to impose a host of regulations that could impede commerce of wine, including direct shipping to consumers. Details and a link to the letter can be found in our press release posted below. READ [...]

HR 5034–Constitutional Problems?

Kane’s Beverage News Daily (need subscription) reports today that a “well-placed lobbyist” in the industry informed them that hearings on HR 5034 have been put on hold because of potential constitutional problems with the bill. Proponents denied this to be the case, but hearings have indeed been postponed. Although never being placed on the official [...]

Letter to Congress from Consumers on H.R. 5034

The Competitive Enterprise Institute is organizing a coalition letter to Congress on HR 5034–a bill that could promote state-level bans on shipping wine to consumers. We are looking for consumer groups, nonprofit groups, citizen groups, and other non-industry organizations who oppose such bans. We just started today and have 15 groups signed so far. To [...]

Modern Day Baptists & Bootleggers Support H.R. 5034

The Baptist and bootleggers’ coalition once ensured alcohol laws would be tough. Back before prohibition and during, they partnered in efforts to make alcohol illegal, which made Baptists feel good while lining the pockets of organized crime, i.e., bootleggers. Their legacy lives on in a modern-day version of their self-serving coalition. Today’s partnership is between [...]

Temperance Smokescreen and HR 5034

Various parties—from distributors to retailers in states where supermarket sales are banned—claim that alcohol regulations safeguard public health and protect children by limiting access to these products. A bill before Congress–H.R. 5034–supposedly would promote “temperance and orderly markets” by empowering states to increase regulations. “Easy and cheap access to alcohol isn’t the answer” noted Craig [...]

Growing Battle on Anti-Consumer Wine Reguations

Today, the New York Post ran my article on regulations against wine sales in grocery stores. Unfortunately, New York’s silly regulations are just the tip of the iceberg. Last week, the Colorado legislature rejected a bill to allow limited grocery store sales of wine there. The prospects for a ballot initiative in the state on [...]

Congressional Bill Threatens Direct Shipping of Wine

This week, the National Beer Wholesalers Association members descend on Washington for their annual legislative conference and lobbying visits to Congress. High on their agenda is a bill (HR 5034) that would limit consumer freedom by allowing states to prevent direct-to-consumer shipping of alcohol–trumping the Supreme Court ruling, Granholm v. Heald. Under Granholm, states are [...]

On the Hill: Anti-Consumer Bill on Wine Shipping

You may have missed this news item, but recently the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy held hearings on alcohol regulation and the three-tier system.  You can watch the hearing online and read written testimony as well. It is good that policymakers are focused on the mess created by anti-competitive alcohol regulations. But rather [...]

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