At the behest of Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has “invested” several years and considerable tax dollars in devising restrictions on the amount of electricity it takes to run virtually every household appliance. Alas, a regulator’s work is never done. Having assumed control over the energy we use to cook, clean, light, heat, and cool every room in our homes, the Washington Powermeisters have taken to crafting energy conservation standards for appliances not in use. (That’s not a typo.) Just last month, for example, the DOE issued an “interim …
Spending on the two big health entitlement programs—Medicare and Medicaid—poses the threat of a fiscal meltdown if Washington does not act to contain their costs. Medicaid, the federal-state partnership to provide health care for the poor and disabled, is also a main driver of growing state budget shortfalls. According to the National Governors Association, the states collectively face $175 billion in deficits through 2013. Meanwhile, the program presents severe access barriers to care for its beneficiaries, resulting in low-quality coverage. If successful Medicaid reform is to occur, the first thing …
A lifetime appointment to the federal bench is now selling for $700,000. At least that was the cost for Rhode Island judicial nominee Jack McConnell, who has donated that sum of money to Democrats in the two decades before President Obama tapped him for federal district court. McConnell faces a Senate confirmation vote as early as today, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown that could open the floodgates for a series of other controversial nominees such as Goodwin Liu, Edward Chen and Louis B. Butler Jr. Obama’s selection of …
Our government is in a fiscal crisis. As debt skyrockets, the spending decisions before us in the coming months and years will have a deep impact on the future of our nation. Lawmakers and the American public must debate the merits and faults of each category of spending. But, as we work to reverse the tide of deficit spending, I urge that we exercise great caution before anyone takes a scalpel to the defense budget. Adequate funding is critical for our military, intelligence, and security agencies to fulfill their Constitutional …
Taking down Osama bin Laden was an achievement resulting from a culmination of a decade of national security policy. Soft power and diplomacy helped along the way, but it was hard power and military might that made it possible. President George W. Bush put the correct policies in place, including the PATRIOT Act, Gitmo and increased intelligence gathering. President Barack Obama was wise to continue executing many of the same strategies. Here are the main reasons we were able to take him out. #1. We Invaded Afghanistan. Anyone who is …
As Heritage kicks off Protect America Month, we headed to Capitol Hill to speak with several members of the House’s freshmen class about the importance of funding defense. The video features short interviews with three freshmen: Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC). Rep. Scott, one of two freshmen Republicans among the House leadership, said that he was confident that his class was well-equipped to make the tough choices needed in Washington in a targeted and responsible way. Speaking of his class, Scott said, …
Congress has yet to enact health care reform that will successfully reduce costs without threatening the quality of care patients receive. Obamacare attempted to achieve this by moving Medicare from a system that pays for the volume of services to one that pays for value. But in fact, the new health law will simply enable bureaucrats to arbitrarily define and reward provider performance, resulting in negative unintended consequences for providers. Beginning in 2012, Medicare’s new Value-Based Purchasing program will go into effect. In the program’s first year, hospital reimbursement will …
My 8-year-old son saw the news reports about Osama bin Laden’s death buzzing Monday on our TV. He took particular note of scenes of cheering crowds: flag-wavers in Times Square and at Ground Zero in New York City, baseball fans in Philadelphia, patriots in Boston, enthusiastic students on college campuses. All were clapping, smiling and chanting in response to the news that U.S. Navy SEALs had cornered and killed the world’s most wanted terrorist. My son wondered about the cheering, concluding that it was OK because “this man killed thousands …
While the world was watching the news coming out of Pakistan about Osama bin Laden, closer to home voters in Canada went to the polls on May 2 and gave Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper a solid majority in Parliament. Conservatives have won or are ahead in 167 of the country’s 308 electoral districts. Harper will head the first conservative majority government in Canada since 1988. The Christian Science Monitor is calling it a “political earthquake” for Canada, noting that the traditional center-left Liberal Party finished a distant third with …
In another victory for common sense and the Constitution, nullification has died a deserved death in North Dakota. Sometimes you really can’t win for losing. The originally proposed “Nullification of Federal Health Care Reform Law” declared the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (Obamacare) to be unconstitutional, and so “invalid,” “rejected” and “null” in North Dakota. Any official, agent or employee of the United States government who tried to enforce that law would be guilty of a felony; any state officer or employee who tried to enforce the law would …
