The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI) is a non-partisan, public policy think tank that advocates for free markets, especially as it regards consumer interests. ¹ ACI focuses its research on economic policy issues like technology, energy and the environment, and taxation. ²

The American Consumer Institute is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ³ While ACI is non-partisan, members of its staff have affiliations with the Republican Party.

The American Consumer Institute is a partner of the Atlas Network. ⁴

Activity

The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI) is a non-partisan, public policy think tank that advocates for free markets, especially consumer interests. ACI alleges that consumer interests are not well represented, and claims most advocacy and consumer organizations only represent special interests and small groups of consumers. ⁵ ACI focuses its research on economic policy issues like technology, energy and the environment, and taxation. ⁶

The American Consumer Institute contends that excessive business taxes and regulations negatively affect consumer welfare, while reducing competition and job creation. ⁷ ACI advocates against the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 2020 proposal to create a global minimum tax rate. ACI claims that a fixed global tax rate would increase costs for businesses in the U.S., create higher prices for consumers, slow economic growth and job creation, and reduce U.S. tax sovereignty. ⁸

In 2020, the American Consumer Institute opposed the extension of production and investment tax credits used to subsidize wind and solar energy. ACI signed a letter along with twenty-three other organizations, claiming that these energy subsidy extensions are unnecessary and create undue financial burdens on taxpayers and consumers. Other signers of the letter include Americans for Prosperity, the National Taxpayers Union, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. ⁹

The American Consumer Institute holds that increased regulation of technology companies will negatively impact small businesses and claims that private companies are constitutionally protected to regulate their own businesses. ACI believes that the current federal law concerning technology platform service providers should be revisited in order to address content moderation, instead of states developing their own individual rules. ¹⁰

The American Consumer Institute advocates for consumer sovereignty, allowing customers the freedom to make their own choices. ¹¹ ACI contends that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) needs to be revised to include consumer sovereignty, allow for more freedom of choice, and protect people with pre-existing conditions. ACI suggests revising the ACA to include better tools to assist consumers in choosing a plan, in hope that easier navigation would lead to larger enrollments and reduced costs. ¹²

Funding

The American Consumer Institute is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While ACI does not disclose its donors, tax filings show donations from R Street Institute, which contributed between 2016 and 2018, ¹³ and National Association of Broadcasters, which contributed between 2014 and 2019. ¹⁴

People

Stephen Pociask is the president and CEO of American Consumer Institute. ¹⁵ Pociask served as chair of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer Advocacy Committee. ¹⁶

Krisztina Pusok is a director of policy and research at ACI. Pusok formerly served as a research associate at the Reason Foundation and as a marketing consultant to the America’s Future Foundation. ¹⁷

George David Banks is a senior fellow at ACI, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and a senior fellow at the Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. Banks formerly served on the Republican staff for the U.S. House Climate Select Committee, as executive vice president of the American Council for Capital Formation, and as a senior law fellow at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. Banks is the former Republican deputy staff director of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. ¹⁸

Liam Sigaud is an economic policy and research manager at ACI. Sigaud formerly worked as the lead policy analyst at the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a staff writer for Ballotpedia, and as an intern for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy and Management. ¹⁹

Derek Hosford is a policy analyst at ACI. Hosford is a former research intern for both the Mercatus Center and the Heritage Foundation. ²⁰

David Marlett is a senior fellow at ACI. Marlett is a former affiliated senior scholar at the Mercatus Center. ²¹

Erwin Blackstone is an ACI expert and a research fellow at the Independent Institute. ²²

Len Merewitz formerly worked as a special assistant for the U.S. Postal Rate Commission, a senior economist for the National Transportation Economic Counsel, and as a senior economist for the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association. ²³Lawrence Powell is an ACI expert and a research fellow at the Independent Institute. ²⁴

Richard Stefanacciis an ACI expert and a health policy scholar at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ²⁵

Mitchell Wilk formerly served as commissioner and president of the California Public Utilities Commission, as deputy chief of staff to former Governor George Deukmejian (R-CA), on the advisory panel to the California State Senate Committee on Energy and Public, and on the board of the Progress and Freedom Foundation’s Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics. ²⁶

1. “About Us.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/about/.
2. “Issues.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/issues/.
3. “The Network.” State Policy Network, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/.
4. “Global Directory: American Consumer Institute, Center for Citizen Research.” Atlas Network, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.atlasnetwork.org/partners/global-directory/american-consumer-institute-center-for-citizen-research.
5. “About Us.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/about/.
6. “Issues.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/issues/.
7. “About Us.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/about/.
8. Hosford, Derek. “OECD Minimum Tax Rate Hurts the U.S. Economy.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, March 31, 2021. Accessed April 12, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2021/03/oecd-minimum-tax-rate-hurts-the-u-s-economy/.
9. “ITC PTC Coalition Letter.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, August 5, 2020. Accessed April 12, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ITC-PTC-Coalition-Letter-FINAL.pdf.
10. Pociask, Steve. “Florida’s big government approach on tackling big tech.” South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 25, 2021. Accessed April 12, 2021. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-op-com-florida-legislature-big-tech-bill-20210325-g5a6dbpjm5bgvjtaelahofgpuy-story.html.
11. “About Us.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 8, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/about/.
12. Morrison, Aaron. “The Reality of Obamacare and Consumer Sovereignty.” The Economic Standard, March 31, 2020. Accessed April 12, 2021. https://theeconomicstandard.com/the-reality-of-obamacare-and-consumer-sovereignty/.
13. R Street Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016-2018. Schedule I, Part II.
14. National Association of Broadcasters, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014-2019. Schedule I, Part II.
15. “Stephen Pociask.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-pociask-8b63857/.
16. “FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Renewal of Charter, Appointment of Chair and Vice Chair, Appointment of Membership, and Next Meeting Date and Time.” Federal Communications Commission, December 1, 2020. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Consumer-Advisory-Committee-PN-Charter-Renewal-and-Appointment-of-members-120120_0936AM.pdf.
17. “Kris Pusok.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisztina7pusok/.
18. “George David Banks.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-david-banks-96b2635/.
19. “Liam Sigaud.” LinkedIn, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-sigaud-02b186127/.
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21. “Our Experts.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/our-experts/.
22. “Erwin A. Blackstone.” Independent Institute, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=962.
23. “Our Experts.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/our-experts/.
24. “Lawrence S. Powell.” Independent Institute, 2021. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=1313.
25. “Our Experts.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/our-experts/.
26. “Our Experts.” The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, 2021. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.theamericanconsumer.org/our-experts/.