House Speaker John Boehner’s (R–OH) commitment to school choice and his support for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) was chronicled in The Washington Post on Tuesday. “I just think it’s horrendous that you’ve got one of the worst school districts in the country right here in the District of Columbia,” Boehner stated. The Speaker went on to say: “Competition makes everyone better. One of the problems with education in America is that there’s not enough competition in the K through 12 arena.” Boehner understands what intellectual heavyweights like economist …
The Obama Administration attempts to justify its unprecedented torrent of regulation as necessary to protect Americans’ health and welfare. But new data on U.S. life expectancy certainly belie regulators’ seemingly incessant assertions that America is unfit for man and beast. Life expectancy at birth increased to a whopping 78.2 years in 2009, up two-tenths of a year from 2008—and a mere 49.2 in 1900, according to the report issued on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control. Women outlive men 80.6 years to 75.7, on average, although the gap has …
Multiple news outlets are reporting that Libya has declared an immediate cease-fire in response to the United Nations resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to stop the violence. This means only one thing: the whack a mole game has officially begun. Qadhafi will now pose as the victim of foreign intervention while at the same time trying to consolidate control of the oil ports and pipelines. The UN intervention will freeze the situation and split Libya into warring camps fighting a protracted civil war, which will fuel Islamist and tribal networks. …
Yesterday the United Nations Security Council voted 10–0, with five abstentions, to authorize military action in Libya. Specifically, the resolution “authorizes member states … to take all necessary measures … to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack.” Celebrations erupted across Benghazi after news of the vote reached rebels. A 17-year-old rebel told The Wall Street Journal: “I give Qadhafi a maximum of two days.” If only. In reality the U.N. resolution is nothing more than a “feel-good” palliative measure that is not likely to decisively affect …
The one year anniversary of Obamacare being signed into law is next week. There has been a lot of parts of the law already enacted. We are joined by Heritage Health Policy expert Brian Blase and he will take your questions about the pain Obamacare is already causing and what we can expect in the future. Lunch with Heritage feat. Brian Blase
To date, over 1,000 companies, covering nearly 2.4 million employees, have been granted waivers to escape the burdensome requirements of Obamacare. The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, the District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives held a hearing this week to further examine the transparency and fairness of the waiver process. Obamacare forbids insurers from placing annual and lifetime limits on health plans. These “consumer protections” have endangered the limited coverage plans that some employers currently offer. Unable to provide more comprehensive coverage, those employers …
Two Republican lawmakers have developed a plan they hope will put pressure on the Obama administration to speed up the permitting process for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Reps. Bill Flores (R-TX) and Jeff Landry (R-LA) introduced legislation to codify timeliness of permitting process by establishing stringent deadlines and clear requirements on drilling applications. Leaseholders would even be able to request a refund on their bonus bid if the Department of Interior rejects an application. The goal is to finally end the de facto drilling moratorium, which was …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus Roundtable, Heritage panelists discuss this week’s Blogger’s Briefing with special guest Herman Cain, gas prices and the budget. Just under one year since passage, Obamacare has already taken its toll on businesses, which is why the recent address by Herman Cain (former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and current talk radio host) is especially important. Cain makes clear that government price setting fundamentally skews the marketplace: “The people who are promoting these radically liberal policies have no concept of how the economics differ for different sectors …
Troops loyal to Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi’s regime continued their advance toward the rebel stronghold of Benghazi yesterday, as the Obama Administration scrambled to mount a response at the U.N. Security Council, where it now apparently favors a more muscular approach to the crisis. Today the Obama Administration is reportedly pushing for a Security Council resolution that would authorize a no-fly zone and air strikes against regime forces that threaten Libyan opposition forces. The Obama Administration has been widely criticized for ruling out military action unless it is first approved …
This year Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in benefits than it collects in taxes. And this is not the first year Social Security has had an operating deficit. Last year, Social Security paid out $37 billion more in benefits than it collected in taxes. And this year is far from the last that Social Security will run an operating deficit. Looking forward, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that Social Security will run a more than $600 billion operating deficit over the next ten years. Every year between …
