The Department of Health and Human Services has rolled out regulations governing health plans in effect prior to the passage of Obamacare. You know, the plans that “if you like it, you can keep it?” The new regs will mostly affect the 170 million-plus Americans who carry employer-sponsored coverage. The vast majority of them (82 percent) are satisfied with their current coverage. The new regs will make it tough for a lot of those folks to hold onto their current plans, even though the Department of Health and Human Services …
While many parts of the globe celebrate the 2010 World Cup, Canada is quietly showing off its competitive edge in another world cup by advancing policies that promote freer trade and economic freedom. Canadian lawmakers recently scored a nice goal by approving a free trade pact with Colombia, a move that will give Canadian ranchers and farmers a sharp advantage over American producers. Although the pact still needs a final ok from the Canadian senate, the voice for freer trade was decisive, as shown in the House of Commons’ 188 …
The Los Angeles Times reports: “Obama urges new efforts to reduce U.S. dependence on oil, citing the ‘tragedy unfolding’ in the Gulf of Mexico.” The Washington Post reports: “The Oval Office address was Obama’s most pointed attempt since the spill began to explain how the crisis should be leveraged on behalf of long-term reform.” The New York Times reports: “President Obama challenged the country last night to unify behind a “national mission” to reduce its reliance on oil and coal, using his first Oval Office address to pressure Congress into …
Today at 12:15, President Obama is scheduled to meet with a delegation from BP — including its CEO Tony Hayward — at the White House. The encounter should be tense. The stage was set for the meeting last night when the president, in no uncertain terms, told the nation that he would “inform” Hayward that he is to set aside funds to be put into escrow to compensate victims of the Gulf oil leak. The statement no doubt made for good public relations, making it look like the president was …
Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed cloture on the tax extenders package. The bill would extend a variety of tax provisions that expire yearly and require Congress to pass them annually to prevent tax increases for many taxpayers, further extend unemployment benefits, and prevent a 21 percent decrease in payments to doctors that treat Medicare patients – the so-called “doc fix.” The extension of the expiring tax provisions is a long-overdue exercise for Congress and should be relatively uncontroversial. But Congress – as usual – could not restrain …
Nearly 31 years ago, on July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter told the American people from the Oval Office: “Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.” Last night the American people heard almost the exact same speech from President Barack Obama: “I’ve returned from a trip to the Gulf …
The President has been very critical of “talking heads” in the media and tonight he had the opportunity to say his piece in his first Oval Office speech. Sadly, the President sounded more like an analyst and candidate for office than a decisive leader. The presidential address to the nation lacked specifics and was full of promised future action. The President started by explaining that he assembled a team of experts soon after the crisis: Because there has never been a leak of this size, at this depth, stopping it …
During President Obama’s address to the nation from the Oval Office tonight, he stated that he was calling on Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to lead a long-term restoration plan for the Gulf region. The President noted Secretary Mabus’ prior service as Governor of Mississippi as providing his credentials. While Heritage respects his service, Secretary Mabus left the governorship nearly twenty years ago and much has changed since then. In addition, the Navy needs a Secretary who is able to devote their full attention to the current issues we …
President Barack Obama delivered his first Oval Office speech on the heels of his latest visit to the Gulf region – the fourth since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in April. With such an environmental and economic crisis present, the president needs to exert leadership to protect our precious coastal resources and clean up the spill. His message was the wrong one. Instead, he continued to politicize the crisis by pushing for cap and trade legislation and to establish a separate claims fund – financed by BP – that will …
Following President Obama’s unseemly attack on members of the Supreme Court because of their ruling in Citizens United v. FEC during this year’s State of the Union address, a whole chorus of liberals, including Obama’s press secretary, congressional Democrats, the editorial writers of the New York Times, and a number of radical organizations like People for the American Way (enough liberals to fill the Mormon Tabernacle Choir — except that would be a violation of the separation of church and statists) have been attacking Chief Justice Roberts and his band …
