The Ripon Society, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

06/19/2026

ICYMI: R Street Institute Senior Fellow for Energy Philip Rossetti of argues that the E15 debate exists because of an artificial problem — the Renewable Fuel Standard. The solution? Get rid of the RFS and let the market determine the optimal level of ethanol consumption:

Recent research from the R Street Institute sheds some light on the real costs of the RFS. In examining the additional cost of ethanol per unit of energy relative to gasoline, as well as estimating the additional cost consumers pay at the pump for the program’s compliance, the program has likely cost $199 billion since 2010. The reason for this high price tag comes down to the difference between old assumptions and what occurred in the past. Gasoline prices have not been as high as predicted when the RFS was initially adopted, making ethanol a less economical substitute to gasoline. This observation is further backed up by the fact that other countries with much higher petroleum prices than the United States have much lower rates of biofuel blending. In lay terms, the assumptions that led policymakers to think the RFS was relatively costless were ultimately untrue, and biofuel consumption levels are pushed upward because of the mandate.

But ultimately, from an economics perspective, it does not really matter who is right about the RFS’s cost, because no economic justification for the program exists. The market is better able to determine the optimal mixture of liquid fuels for sale, which will necessitate more ethanol consumption in some years compared to others as the prices of fuel inputs fluctuate. The government has introduced inefficiency into markets by shielding the ethanol industry from competition via the RFS and passing the costs to Americans at the pump.

The debate about E15 blending exists because of an artificial problem stemming from the failures of the RFS. In an ideal world, the market would determine the optimal mixture of ethanol and gasoline, but the tension between environmental regulations and the government mandating enormous purchases of ethanol has created this problem. From a policy standpoint, the solution is obvious: get rid of the RFS, and let the market determine the optimal level of ethanol consumption instead of politicians.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/will-americans-benefit-from-year-round-e15-sales-no/

06/18/2026

From the October 2020 Ripon Forum, Senator Deb Fischer discusses why American global leadership isn't a partisan issue — it's a national security imperative:

The idea that America, not Russia or China, should play the leading role in world affairs is bipartisan. The Senate NDAA does more than any other bill in recent memory to promote U.S. leadership, and my Republican and Democratic colleagues in the Senate recognized this and largely voted for its passage.

Congress has passed the NDAA every year for the past 60 years, fulfilling its duty to our military, their families, and our national security. As we approach the end of 2020, the Senate and House of Representatives are preparing to meet in conference to discuss our versions of the bill.

During this process, we cannot lose sight of our greatest geopolitical threats: Russia and China. The future of our country depends on enacting a bill that puts America first and protects our people.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/meeting-the-threat/

06/17/2026

ICYMI: Holly Wade of the NFIB Research Center writes in the latest Ripon Forum that taxes are one of the most consistent, challenging, and consequential issues facing small businesses — and explains why last year's tax law is a game-changer:

Small business owners had a second reason to celebrate on Independence Day in 2025 as President Trump signed a sweeping new bill into law that made a raft of small business-friendly tax provisions permanent. Their celebrations are hardly surprising. One-quarter of small business owners identify federal taxes on business income as a critical problem, and one in five report taxes as the single biggest challenge in operating their business. In other words, taxes are one of the most consistent, challenging, and consequential issues facing small businesses. With the new law, owners are better able to invest in their communities, compete, and grow their business.

Taxes create two distinct burdens for small businesses: cost and complexity. The cost burden is straightforward. Higher taxes reduce cash flow, limit reinvestment, and constrain growth. The compliance burden, however, is less appreciated. While many small business owners rely on accountants or tax professionals, the year-round challenge of tax optimization requires owners to constantly evaluate how the rules affect hiring, investment, pricing, and long-term planning. These assessments consume small business owners’ time, add uncertainty, and divert attention away from running the business. Complexity is its own form of cost.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/small-business-tax-certainty-expands-confidence-on-main-street/

06/16/2026

TEDDY TWEET OF THE WEEK

“A man to be a good citizen must first be a good bread-winner, a good husband, a good father–I hope the father of many healthy children.”

Theodore Roosevelt
The Key to Success in Life
1916

06/15/2026

ICYMI: In the latest edition of The Ripon Forum, BYU grad & Ripon Society Oxley Intern Isabelle Cook examines what the polls reveal about young Americans and energy — a generation that wants clean power, lower bills, and an all-of-the-above approach:

On climate change itself, younger Americans remain far more alarmed than their elders, and they want policymakers to act accordingly. Pew reports that 54 percent of Americans view climate change as a major threat to the country’s well-being, but the partisan gap is enormous: 78 percent of Democrats say it’s a major threat, compared with 23 percent of Republicans. Among the Gen Z that use social media, nearly seven in ten (69 percent) say climate content makes them feel anxious about the future. For many young Americans, climate change is the backdrop against which every other policy question is asked.

And yet, caring about climate change doesn’t mean policymakers are being given a blank check for taking action. A 2025 poll from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) found that only 38 percent of Americans are willing to pay even $1 more per month on their energy bills to address climate change. And it’s not just about energy or climate costs either. The American Enterprise Institute finds that young voters aren’t walking away from capitalism but are instead walking away from leaders who talk about the economy in ways that have nothing to do with their actual lives. They want policies that feel honest and grounded, because they are “frustrated by broken promises.” When climate or energy plans sound disconnected from everyday reality, that’s when young voters tune out. And as Gen Z enters the workforce, signs leases, and starts paying utilities, that gap between environmental idealism and economic reality is only going to get harder to ignore.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/young-americans-and-energy/

06/12/2026

ICYMI: In the latest Ripon Forum, Josiah Neeley of the R Street Institute looks at the forces driving up energy prices — and why fixing them will require action from Washington and the states alike:

The Trump administration has taken a number of actions to combat rising energy prices, though clearly more needs to be done. The administration reversed several Biden administration energy actions — such as the pause on approval of LNG export facilities — and took steps to help increase domestic oil production, though a return to moderate oil and gas prices will most likely depend on the resolution of the conflict with Iran. The administration has also identified permitting as a key bottleneck for the energy industry, and is seeking to reduce permitting times and complexity for fossil fuel and nuclear power (though its approach to renewable energy is less favorable, to put it mildly). In addition, President Trump has put forward a Ratepayer Protection Pledge, calling on data center companies to build or procure the power needed for their own facilities in a way that does not impact other ratepayers.

A president can only do so much at the end of the day. Most electricity policy is set at the state level, and even actions taken federally through executive order or agency action are vulnerable to reversal by a new presidential administration if they are not codified into law. Dealing with rising energy prices will thus require concerted action by all levels and branches of government based on good economic principles and the lessons of history.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/energy-costs-and-the-american-economy/

06/11/2026

In the April 2023 Ripon Forum, urban scholar Joel Kotkin argued that America's cities are in crisis — and that reversing the decline starts with new leadership:

The question now is how do cities survive? In New York, city leaders realize that the era shaped by the office tower is coming to an end and plan to convert many of these buildings into housing. But this may be of only limited utility. According to one recent estimate, barely 20 million of the city’s 420 million square feet of office space is suitable for conversion, despite this being much desired by the building’s desperate owners. In another less promising sign, both New York and Chicago plan to build large casinos — the kind of Hail Mary pass that has rarely delivered solid economic results.

Just as critical will be addressing the fundamental issues relating to governance. This will require a greater emphasis on dispersed neighborhoods, some still doing well as work disperses. It will also require shifting away from the progressive agenda that has made so many cities unlivable, from bans on energy sources such as natural gas, to a refusal to crack down on crime, to the usually miserable state of urban public education. Communities might be housed in neighborhoods, but the people in them need to have a reason to want to keep living there, particularly if they have children.

Clearly, current urban leadership needs to change. The key challenge lies with restoring or at least maintaining the stable middle or working class constituencies that elected the last crop of effective reformers — Rudy Giuliani in New York, Ed Rendell in Philadelphia, Bob Lanier in Houston or Richard Riordan in Los Angeles. Powerful public employee political machines, daft billionaires, and highly radicalized lobbies all stand in the way of a real turnaround.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/things-are-different-downtown/

06/10/2026

ICYMI: Geothermal energy has something rare in Washington: genuine buy-in from both sides of the aisle. Matthew Mailloux of ClearPath Action breaks down why enhanced geothermal could be a cornerstone of America's clean, reliable energy future in the latest Forum:

The technology’s rapid maturation reflects cutting-edge American innovation, leveraging technology pioneered during the shale revolution and applying it to previously inaccessible geothermal resources. By adapting techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic stimulation, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) engineer a reservoir from scratch. Companies like Fervo Energy have demonstrated how quickly the technology is advancing, having reduced drilling costs by 70 percent since its first wells in 2023.

But in an era of intense partisanship in Washington, the political progress may be even more notable as geothermal’s attributes meet energy priorities across the aisle. Conservatives see a resource that leverages American drilling expertise and provides reliable power. Meanwhile, progressives and climate hawks value its zero-carbon benefits. This convergence of interests has yielded concrete policy outcomes. In 2022, geothermal was included in the clean electricity tax credits enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed by President Biden; in 2025, Republicans preserved geothermal’s eligibility for those same credits in President Trump’s signature Working Families Tax Cuts. The tax policy certainty demonstrated by major bills from both political parties reflects enduring bipartisan support for geothermal. That momentum continues today, as multiple bipartisan geothermal permitting bills have passed through House committees, with additional legislative action expected later this year.

READ MORE: https://riponsociety.org/article/drilling-for-dominance-leveraging-american-innovation-for-enhanced-geothermal/

06/09/2026

NEWS from
THE RIPON SOCIETY
"Rep. Jimmy Panetta and Rep. Blake Moore on Baseball, Bipartisanship, and the 91st Congressional Game"
June 9, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC – With 48 hours to go before the first pitch of the 91st annual Congressional Baseball Game, The Ripon Society and Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange welcomed two players from opposite dugouts — Congressmen Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) and Blake Moore (R-UT-01) — for a discussion last night about one of Capitol Hill's most beloved bipartisan traditions.

The philanthropic event, which The Ripon Society is a proud sponsor of, raises funds for charities serving the Washington community — including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Washington Nationals Philanthropies. In 2025, the annual game broke ticket sale and fundraising records by raising over $2.75 million for local charities.

Moore, who serves on the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee and hit an inside-the-park home run during his very first at-bat in 2021, opened the discussion by recalling the moment he realized just how seriously his colleagues take the game.

“My very first interaction with Kevin McCarthy was at a dinner," he said, referring to an event he attended with the former House Speaker and Majority Leader when he was first running for Congress in 2020. “I said in passing to him, ‘Mr. McCarthy, I just wanted to tell you I'm really excited about the game. I may have to dust off my old pitching arm.’ And he stopped dead in his tracks, and he goes, ‘Wait, you can pitch?’

“Luckily I haven't had to pitch yet, but that was the moment that I knew this was an important thing. … And those are some of the best memories. I'll sneak over to the dugout and say ‘hi’ to Jimmy during the game or during warmups, or we'll just look at each other and laugh about all this.”

Panetta, a fellow Ways & Means Committee member who serves as an Honorary Co-Chair of The Franklin Center and has a .478 average, then spoke to why the game feels especially meaningful this year.

“I think this thing is needed right now,” Panetta stated. “There's a reason why you're seeing ticket sales and donations through the roof. Based on the year and a half that we've gone through in the 119th Congress, I think people are looking forward to coming together over something that unifies us. And nothing unifies Congress like baseball and this annual game.

“Being out there in the outfield, looking up at the scoreboard, looking around Nationals Stadium and seeing all of the fans that are there, it's absolutely exhilarating. The excitement and the fun after that first pitch, after you catch your first fly ball, and the fact that we can do it and have as much fun as we do and know that we are raising money for a good cause — well, nothing beats it.”

Panetta also touched on the game's most sobering moment — the horrific shooting during Republican practice in 2017 — to underscore what bipartisanship can look like under pressure.

“We had a special session after the shooting and Speaker Ryan said, ‘An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.' To me, that sums up what we need more of. We need more of that attitude of we are together on this. And that's really what the game does. This game brings us together. As much as we want to beat them and they want to beat us and as much smack as we talk to each other, and as competitive as we're going to be Wednesday night, it really does bring us closer.”

The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

Founded in 1978, The Franklin Center for Global Policy Exchange is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to enhancing global understanding of important international issues. The Franklin Center brings together Members of the U.S. Congress and their international parliamentary counterparts as well as experts from the Diplomatic corps, foreign officials, senior private sector representatives, scholars, and other public policy experts. Through regular conferences and events where leading international opinion leaders share ideas, the Franklin Center promotes enlightened, balanced, and unbiased international policy discussion on major international issues.

SOURCE: https://riponsociety.org/2026/06/panetta-and-moore-on-baseball-bipartisanship-and-the-91st-congressional-game/

06/09/2026

TEDDY TWEET OF THE WEEK

“The greatest possible good can be done by the extension of a helping hand at the right moment, but the attempt to carry any one permanently can end in nothing but harm.”

Theodore Roosevelt
Century
October 1900

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