Ensuring Election Integrity and Patent Rights: Center for Regulatory Freedom Weekly Update

This week, the Center for Regulatory Freedom (CRF) submitted comments to federal agencies, addressing key issues in healthcare, election integrity, and rural housing. These efforts reflect CRF's commitment to promoting policies that protect innovation, enhance transparency, and ensure efficient use of public resources.

On behalf of the Coalition for Against Socialized Medicine (CASM), CRF submitted comments to the FTC and DOJ, advocating for stronger patent rights while addressing the anti-competitive dominance of large pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The comments highlighted that weakening patents would stifle innovation, while PBM consolidation and opaque practices increase costs and limit patient choices. CRF urged a balanced approach to foster competition without undermining intellectual property protections critical to medical advancements.

To the Elections Assistance Commission, CRF supported extending the voting system testing and certification information collection forms, emphasizing their role in ensuring transparency and integrity in elections. Additionally, CRF called for stricter enforcement of HAVA provisions, including stronger voter ID verification, more rigorous lab accreditation reviews, and collaboration with the Attorney General to impose penalties for election offenses, reinforcing trust in the electoral process.

For the USDA’s proposed rule on the Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program, CRF endorsed requiring market studies to tie loan guarantees to actual community needs. However, CRF recommended removing burdensome language access requirements, tightening lender qualifications, and strengthening audit processes to enhance accountability and safeguard federal resources. These comments aim to ensure the program operates efficiently and meets its intended purpose.

This week, the Center for Regulatory Freedom (CRF) continued to promote policies that protect individual liberties, foster economic growth, and ensure government accountability by submitting targeted comments to federal agencies. Across sectors including healthcare, election integrity, and rural housing, CRF advocated for innovation by safeguarding intellectual property, strengthening democratic processes through enhanced transparency, and promoting fiscal responsibility by efficient use of public resources.