It turns out that neither nuclear weapons nor terrorism may be the greatest threat to American prosperity and security. Instead, it may be something we hear very little about in the mainstream media: our burgeoning national debt. Runaway spending on entitlements, bailouts, and stimulus bills are driving the budget deficit upward. As an article in The Washington Times explains, massive government debt may be the force that ultimately overcomes the nation’s ability to be the “master of its own destiny.” Publicly-held debt now stands at $7 trillion, or about $22,000 …
Ask Yoani Sanchez Many members of Congress support legislation calling for changes in U.S. law to allow free travel by all Americans to Cuba. The measure parallels an earlier decision made by the Obama Administration to remove travel restrictions for most Cuban-Americans. The chief assumption behind the bill is that an influx of U.S. visitors will moderate Cuban hostility to the U.S. and democratic practices and open the door to the give-and-take of a free society. News from Cuba that prominent dissident and courageous blogger Yoani Sanchez, unofficial spokesperson for …
President Obama signed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law last month. More precisely, he signed into law the fiscal year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains the hate crimes measure as a ride-along amendment. Either way it’s viewed, the measure is misnamed with respect to the hate crimes provision, as it neither provides for national defense nor adheres to principles of local law enforcement. Instead, the bill makes a federal matter out of certain violent crimes committed against individuals based on their real or perceived …
Following last Tuesday’s election, the last thing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wanted to do was allow Members of Congress to go home and talk to their constituents about the $2.6 trillion health care bill she was marshaling through Congress. The centerpiece of Pelosi’s trap and pressure campaign was a Saturday address by President Barack Obama in the Cannon Office Building, where Obama warned Democrats: “Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care? All it will do is confuse and …
Analysis – With the passage of the health care bill on Saturday night the House is now out of session for the entire week. Major Floor Action – None.
Analysis – With Veterans’ Day on Wednesday, the Senate will have a shorter than normal workweek – Monday and Tuesday. Senators will spend the remainder of the week back home honoring veterans and, presumably, hearing from constituents about health care. The timeline for Senate action on the Reid-Obama health care bill is ever changing, which suggests substantial problems exist. A score from the Congressional Budget Office could come as early as next week. Major Floor Action – On Monday, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Andre Davis to …
The health care bill passed by the House tonight took another step towards transferring power over personal health care decisions from individuals to bureaucrats in Washington. The Republican alternative was a good strong first step of targeted reforms that are necessary to improve health care financing and delivery. If it were to become law, the House bill would put the government in control of over half of all health care spending and would dramatically shift America’s health care system from one that is largely private to one that is subordinated to …
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic leadership are frantically trying to find enough votes to pass their giant 2,032 page health care legislation this weekend. But before Speaker Pelosi and liberals in Congress pass their big bill, the American taxpayers should be fully aware of the full price tag of this monster. As Heritage analysts noted earlier in the week, the Congressional Budget Office released its preliminary score of the bill (H.R. 3962) but too many in the media have not been reporting its true cost. The true …
House Minority Leader John Boehner and his House Republican colleagues have just unveiled a 230 page “Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute” to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s massive 2032 page health care bill (H.R. 3962). Voting on the substitute and the main bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could begin as early as Saturday, November 7, 2009. In contrast to H.R. 3962, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finds that the Substitute would reduce average health insurance premiums ( by 7 to 10 percent in the small group market …
Proponents of global warming legislation or an international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions argue that climate change could affect the safety, not only in the United States, but in other countries as more natural disasters will lead to increased global conflict. But the claim that warming causes increased tension and causes wars is misleading according to recent testimony from Heritage analyst James Carafano: The global climate has always been changing. Adapting to these changes and human efforts to manage their surrounding environment is a permanent feature of human competition. …
