The New York Times and Washington Post are reporting that an agreement has been reached to include a federal takeover of student loans as part of the forthcoming reconciliation package. The New York Times reports: Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Thursday that breathes new life into President …
In the face of declining polling numbers, daily Democratic defections, and unfavorable rulings from the Senate Parliamentarian, the White House has devolved into all out panic mode. Politico reports: President Barack Obama is delaying his trip to Indonesia and Australia by three days in hopes of finalizing a health care …
Reports yesterday indicated that the Senate Parliamentarian “ruled” that the President must sign the Senate passed version of Obamacare before the Senate can act on a reconciliation measure. This ruling would have blown up plans in the House to use a very complicated procedure to pass both a Senate passed …
I have been deluged lately with requests asking me whether one has to answer all of the questions on the 2010 Census, particularly those about race and ethnic background. Like Mark Krikorian, I don’t like those questions and don’t think the U.S. government should be collecting that information — its …
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support held a hearing on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and its role in providing assistance to struggling families. The Obama Administration’s witness, Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, …
Remember how public anger over the federal debt reaching new sky-high levels last year drove lawmakers into a flurry of discussions about budget controls? Responding to public and international pressure to do something about permanently spiraling deficits, President Obama established a flawed commission to tackle the spending problem. Congress, doing …
In the wake of a devastating report on his presidency by the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Commission, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s loudest defense has come from actor Sean Penn, known most recently for his roles in Milk and Mystic River. In the OAS report, Chavez is accused of …
Yesterday the White House circulated a memo by pollster Joel Benenson. It was designed to create momentum for Obamacare by convincing wayward House Democrats that support for the President’s plan has been building since the State of the Union. As with everything else that comes out of the White House …
The Tax Foundation recently released its annual report on the number of tax returns filed that have no tax liability, and the study shows a record number of “nonpayers” in 2008. Taxpayers become “non-payers” when credits and deductions wipe out any income tax they owe. According to the Tax Foundation …
In a startlingly blunt manner, French President Nicolas Sarkozy today demanded that the United Nations be reformed and argued that key international issues could not be resolved by negotiations among 192 U.N. member countries. According to the AFP account, Sarkozy announced that “The UN is absolutely indispensable and yet at …
