As millions of rose bouquets grace kitchen tables and office desks across America and dozens of chocolate delicacies are savored after candlelight dinners, card companies, jewelry stores and candy makers will be singing the praises of St. Valentine and raising their own glass of champagne to love. But the economic benefits of celebrating lifelong love are not simply for card stores and florist shops once a year. Marriage not only pays emotional dividends as men and women commit themselves to each other, focus on their children, and face the challenges …
House Cloakroom Report: February 14th-18th Analysis: An interesting week in the House of Representatives will ensue with the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remaining part of the fiscal year coming to the floor to be debated under an open process. Additional cuts were pushed to the forefront throughout last week by House conservatives demanding stronger action to tackle America’s abysmal debt. A package from the Appropriations Committee was proposed on Friday evening in the range of $100 billion in cuts relative to President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget …
Senator Orrin Hatch came to The Heritage Foundation on Friday to present his forthcoming immigration bill—“The Strengthening our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America’s Security Act.” His remarks, and the content of his bill, are a step in the right direction on immigration and border security—given that President Obama used his State of the Union address to make another case for amnesty. The bill was written in collaboration with members of Congress from states along the southwestern border. As Hatch said, it’s important to work with those who, “of all …
The last chapter of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule has come to a close. But, as Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes contends in yesterday’s Washington Times, change shouldn’t end with new elections or a restructured political system. Economic liberalization must be part and parcel of the greater reform process. The protesters in Tahrir Square aren’t looking for a Western-style democracy. A Pew poll taken in Egypt last year reveals that Egyptians generally prefer a democracy, but they also support vividly anti-Western, Islamist policies—such as executing Muslims who change religion …
Why does anybody need a waiver to a law that’s been ruled unconstitutional? We don’t know; ask the Department of Health and Human Services. On Wednesday, HHS updated its Web site to show that it has now granted 915 waivers to Obamacare’s requirements on benefit limits in health insurance plans. The waivers allow employers to continue offering plans with annual limits on the dollar amount of benefits provided. These so-called mini-med plans are an affordable option for many workers, but they would become unavailable without the waivers. The waivers are …
Most people know that eating well and exercising regularly leads to better health. What some people may not know, however, is that marriage is also good for their health. And its benefits extend across gender, race, and income levels. Furthermore, both married adults and children from married-parent families are more likely to have good health. Good health is important to everyone’s quality of life. And in the current debate about improving health outcomes without raising costs, it’s good to know that we can look somewhere other than government for factors …
The Washington Post on February 10 ran an op-ed by Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius asserting that the new health reform legislation empowers the states and gives them the flexibility they are asking for. Indeed, she says, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) “gives states incredible freedom to tailor reforms to their needs.” The Secretary’s piece offers a revealing glimpse into the mindset of PPACA’s advocates. At the same time, it is fundamentally wrong as a factual matter. Before PPACA was enacted, states could …
When Congress began phasing-out the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in 2009, some parents were forced to send their kids to public schools that are failing and often unsafe. When asked by these parents about what options exist for them, I was at a complete loss as to how to advise them. It troubles me greatly that parents are made to feel hopeless and helpless when faced with failing neighborhood schools that their children must attend because they don’t have the resources to either move to a neighborhood with better schools …
Given the task of producing a plan to develop a new housing finance system after the crisis of 2008 and the failure of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—a task that everyone agrees will be extremely complex—the Obama Administration decided to punt. Rather than one detailed plan, it produced brief summaries of three very different ones, leaving the nation to wonder what the Administration really wants. The report clearly supports ending both Fannie and Freddie, but what happens next is very unclear. The three proposals for the future after Fannie …
On the subject of arms treaties with the Soviet Union, President Reagan famously said, “Trust, but verify.” Now many Members of Congress want to do the same with public funding of elective abortion under Obamacare, but they are meeting new resistance from congressional Democrats, some of whom, nonetheless, insist they have the same goal. The battle dates back to 2009, when the abortion funding issue held up the passage of the massive health care bill known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In March 2010, the PPACA …
