As the country nears its first anniversary of the passage of Obamacare, the health care fight is just getting started. Last week, the House of Representatives passed a measure to fully repeal Obamacare, and 28 states have filed lawsuits to contest the law’s constitutionality, a decision that will ultimately be made by the Supreme Court. At the same time, the states continue to resist the federal health care overhaul by passing new legislation and delaying implementation. Clearly, the future of Obamacare is anything but settled. Rather, its passage has served …
Join Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Heritage experts to hear what those cuts may mean for economic freedom, how greater economic freedom can improve the State of the Union, and what policy initiatives can help the U.S. regain the level of economic freedom that made it the most prosperous nation in the world. UPDATE: The event is over and we will put the video archive of this event as soon as we have it available.
The Obama Administration’s engagement policy suffered two major defeats in recent days due to the collapse of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, which followed the collapse of Lebanon’s pro-Western government two weeks ago. The diplomatic dead end over Iran’s nuclear program has received the lion’s share of Western press attention. Although expectations had been low, Iran’s inflexible diplomacy sorely disappointed the few observers who still harbor hopes that a diplomatic process can be designed to resolve the simmering nuclear standoff. Tehran refused to negotiate unless all sanctions imposed on Iran …
Last night, in his State of the Union, President Barack Obama claimed, “We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. … That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future.” This is true. But then he went on to say: “We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time.” No. No, he doesn’t. The rest of the President’s speech made it very clear that he has no idea what makes America the best place on earth …
Heritage members and fans are discussing President Barack Obama’s State of the Unions address at Twitter and Facebook right now. And here are just some of our experts’ immediate reactions to parts of the speech: More Change and Progress What does the committed progressive do when the direction of history turns against them? That’s what seems to have happened between 2008 and 2010–between an election thought to be the next great leap forward in the movement of liberalism and another which seems to signal a popular rejection of just that …
Parents across America who’d like to lift their children out of failing public schools can be grateful that the new leader of the House of Representatives gets it. Speaker John Boehner’s invited guests for tonight’s State of the Union address include students, teachers and other champions of vouchers that allow low-income D.C. children to attend the school of their parents’ choice – a results-getting program targeted for extinction by liberals beholden to government education unions. One of Boehner’s guests in the Speaker’s Box is a particularly dear friend of Heritage …
During last year’s State of the Union address, President Obama emphasized the need to restore fiscal responsibility in Washington. The federal government racked up a $1.3 trillion deficit in 2010, and the long-term fiscal outlook is even worse. While the average historical deficit stands at 2.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), by 2050, deficits will have surpassed 20 percent of GDP and will continue to climb. To tame the beast, Congress and the President will need to work together to reduce runaway spending, the main source of budget shortfalls. …
Lest anyone tell you that the phase-out of (non-toxic) incandescent light bulbs will be hassle-free (other than hugely expensive), herewith is the directive from the Environmental Protection Agency for ridding your home of toxic vapor in the event you or a loved one (or relative) breaks the mercury-laden compact fluorescent (CFL) pushed by the government as superior: Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out. Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 5-10 minutes. Shut off …
When the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul bill was passed last summer, it was done so with much of the fanfare and self-congratulation that has come to typify Washington. Then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called it the “toughest set of Wall Street reform in generations.” But the bill’s hype was not backed up with much substance. The legislation, which was sold as a response to the financial crisis, did not even address the problems of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and made TARP-style bailouts a permanent fixture of the government’s fiscal policy. And …
Heritage Foundation analysts have been pointing out differences in interpretation of New START, a nuclear offensive arms control treaty with Russia, between the two sides for months. Now, a veteran arms negotiator agrees. Joel McKean, brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force (ret.) who served as executive secretary of U.S. SALT II delegation, points out a potentially serious difference in interpretation of language in the text of the treaty. “That which was praised as a foreign policy success,” General McKean says, “has the potential now of becoming another international policy …
