Waxman-Markey intends to reduce carbon dioxide emissions – mainly by implementing a cap and trade program but also by imposing new mandates and subsidies for renewable energy as well as creating a host of stricter, costly energy efficiency standards. But interestingly enough, if you perform a search for the word “nuclear” in the 1,427 pages climate change bill, it only appears five times – two of which are in the titles. While the bureaucratic-laden approach offered by the legislation is extremely problematic, the fact that it has virtually no mention …
Throughout his sales pitch to the American people, President Barack Obama has always insisted that his health care plan would not use taxpayer funds to pay for abortions. This despite the fact that President Obama promised Planned Parenthood the exact opposite in 2007. During his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama even said: “Some of people’s concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. … And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up – under our …
Multiple sources on the Hill have told The Foundry that as early as next week, the Senate could be debating Obamacare. This is a possibility and not something that has been scheduled, but senior Senate staffers on the Hill are buzzing about the Senate Majority Leader using a House passed tax bill to jumpstart debate next week on Obamacare. It is important to note that the Senate does not have a bill ready for the Senate floor yet. Senate Majority Leader Reid has stated an intention to take the HELP …
Brookings Institution senior fellow Benjamin Wittes writes in today’s Washington Post: President Obama’s decision not to go to Congress for help in establishing reasonable standards for the continued detention of Guantanamo detainees is a failure of leadership in the project of putting American law on a sound basis for a long-term confrontation with terrorism. It is bad for the country, for national security and for civil liberties. It represents a virtually wholesale adoption of the failed policies of his predecessor — who, with equal obtuseness, refused to root American detention …
…then why does Nevada need protection from it? The New York Times reports: The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has secured a special deal protecting his state against the costs of expanding Medicaid under one of the major health care bills moving through Congress. … Now Mr. Baucus has modified the bill to spare Nevada and three other states, and Mr. Reid, who faces a potentially difficult race for re-election next year, is taking credit for getting a “major increase” in federal money for his state. All of …
In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) tries to draw conclusions from the Vietnam War for our fight in Afghanistan. Some of his “lessons” are misguided and could put our troops in Afghanistan in greater harm’s way. Senator Kerry asserts that “we should not commit troops to the battlefield without a clear understanding of what we expect them to accomplish, how long it will take, and how we maintain the consent of the American people.” While it is necessary to review tactics and strategy, …
The Wall Street Journal reports: President Sarkozy in particular pushed hard [to reveal Tehran's secret facility Thursday]. He had been “frustrated” for months about Mr. Obama’s reluctance to confront Iran, a senior French government official told us, and saw an opportunity to change momentum. But the Administration told the French that it didn’t want to “spoil the image of success” for Mr. Obama’s debut at the U.N. and his homily calling for a world without nuclear weapons, according to the Paris daily Le Monde. So the Iran bombshell was pushed …
This morning the Senate Finance Committee will resume their markup of Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) health care bill. Thanks to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) the focus today will be on whether or not the Democrats on the committee can find enough votes to include a government-run insurance program. Just like Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) preferred public plan, Rockefeller’s plan would set price controls for health reimbursements at 5% above Medicare reimbursement rates. If the public plan was opened to all individuals and families, 103.4 million Americans …
The Washington political scene has lost one of its best minds with the death of William Safire. I first met Bill almost 40 years ago, when he was writing speeches in the Nixon White House and I worked on Capitol Hill. He later moved on to write for The New York Times op-ed page, where he usually propounded a sensible, conservative path that stood in contrast to almost all the newspaper’s other writers. It was, for 30 years, the best thing in the Times. Safire knew that words mattered. He …
Americans love having options. From the food we eat to the cars we drive, we relish making our own choices based on our preferences and what is best for ourselves and our families. Health care should not be an exception. Yet the proposals put forward by the Obama administration and the Democratic congressional leadership would create a massive government plan for health care and crowd out the choices Americans expect. A federal government takeover of our nation’s health care will limit, if not eliminate, an individual’s options in insurance and …
