Over the past weekend Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, gave one of the most expansive and surprising speeches of the year. State-of-the-Unionesque in scope and partisan tone it nevertheless laid out some interesting ideas for debate. On one top tier issue Mr. Hoyer hit the nail on the head when he said: More than ever, it’s possible to imagine a government with nothing left to spend on educating our children, on securing our borders, on conducting groundbreaking research. More than ever, it’s possible to imagine a government of, …
This upcoming Saturday, AmericaSpeaks, a non-partisan organization devoted to re-energizing democracy in the U.S., will hold a nationwide discussion on the federal budget and runaway spending in Washington. Americans with all viewpoints are encouraged to make their voices heard regarding this crucial aspect of America’s future. With the president’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in the throes of its own discussion on how best to tackle growing deficits, this opportunity could not come at a better time. To contribute effectively, citizens must understand the following: What’s the problem? …
More than two years ago, then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton launched a campaign ad that took direct aim at Senator Barack Obama’s inexperience. It painted the picture of a telephone ringing in the White House at 3 a.m. and asked the question, when there is a crisis in the world and your children are safe and asleep, “Who do you want answering the phone?” Now, two years later, there are several crises confronting America, that telephone is ringing, and President Obama isn’t quite sure what to do about it. The first …
At a recent AEI conference entitled “Health Care Reform: An Initial Checkup,” experts from a range of sectors discussed the implications of the provisions of the PPACA that are already defined, and pondered the many that are not. The early morning discussion revolved around the new law’s impact on low-skilled workers, possible drag on future employment expansion, and additional strain placed on state resources. The mid-morning panel addressed the myriad of questions surrounding the regulatory rule-making sequence and speculated that a capricious system of penalizing employers could undermine the current …
A June Health Affairs briefing on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) showed just how deep the chasm is between many of Washington’s policy experts and ordinary Americans. At the briefing, panelists discussed the potential impact and implementation of the PPACA amidst the public’s uncertainty over the law’s provisions and the likely, as well as the unintended, consequences. The panelists discussed three main issues: whether the PPACA would bend the cost curve, the states’ role in reforming insurance markets and the impact of Medicaid expansion …
The order by a federal district court in Louisiana overturning President Obama’s six-month general moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates many of the mistakes the administration has made in handling this environmental disaster. From the unjustified 24-hour ban imposed by the Coast Guard on the barges that were pumping oil out of the water to check on whether they had fire extinguishers and life vests on board to the Army Corps of Engineers’ delays in allowing Louisiana to build berms and sand barriers to protect its …
Congress put the finishing touches on a long-awaited Iran sanctions bill yesterday when House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a final version of the sanctions, which will penalize Iran for its nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and human rights abuses. This latest round of sanctions would disrupt Iran’s energy and banking operations by cutting off access to the U.S. market for firms that supply Iran with refined petroleum products such as gasoline, ship Iran’s crude oil abroad or insure its oil shipments. U.S. banks would be banned from conducting business with foreign …
President Obama’s ban on offshore drilling has come under heavy fire. The industries directly and indirectly affected by the offshore moratorium made their voice heard that they oppose the president’s moratorium, and just yesterday Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal argued in an amicus brief that “The drilling moratorium imposed by [the government] will only compound the State’s problems, effectively turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe for the State.” Today, federal judge Martin L.C. Feldman issued an injunction that would block the White House’s offshore drilling ban. Feldman wrote, The …
Just what Kool-Aid are they drinking in the White House? The question is occasioned almost daily now, but today’s issue isn’t Afghanistan, the oil spill, or health care reform. The Kool-Aid question arises today in the antics leading up to the upcoming G-20 meeting in Toronto. According to press reports, Obama is pressing Europe to focus more on sustaining their deficit spending rather than debt reduction. Germany, Europe’s de facto bailout banker-in-chief, has essentially responded, “Are you nuts?” Wolfgang Schauble, Germany’s Finance Minister diplomatically told reporters in Berlin, Nobody can …
One might expect that if the President of the United States had the ability to secure the southern border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. A recent YouTube video of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) reveals otherwise. In the video, Kyl describes a one-on-one encounter he had with President Barack Obama about the Administration’s plans for the southern border. According to Kyl, President Obama said, “If we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support …
