Despite the Clinton Administration’s failed efforts to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1999, the Obama Administration believes the time is right for another attempt in the U.S. Senate, writes Heritage analyst Peter Brookes. Such optimism overlooks the realities of the current strategic environment, in which numerous states such as North Korea and Iran are either seeking nuclear weapons or expanding their arsenals. Furthering the White House’s CTBT optimism is the ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty last December. According to Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary for …
One need look no further than the latest sitcom or celebrity pronouncement to witness the strained state of fatherhood in American culture. As men have become expendable in the eyes of pop culture, fewer adults see the necessity of ensuring their children are raised in intact, married families, where they can experience the unique benefits of both a mother and a father. More Americans are cohabitating; fewer are marrying; and if they do wed, it is at a much later age than previous generations. Although divorce rates have declined slightly …
Congressional Quarterly reported yesterday that Democrats, led by Representative Chris Van Hollen (D–MD), are pushing to use “tax overhaul” as a means to cut a deal to increase the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion: Van Hollen also revealed that Democrats on the panel have “put a whole menu of options on the table” to eliminate corporate tax breaks, which so far have not been accepted by Republican members. The proposals include repealing tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, corporate jets and private jets, he said. “It’s a whole …
At the time of its enactment in 2003, the Medicare drug benefit—known as Medicare Part D—had many critics. Some said the program, which is built on consumer choice and vigorous competition among private plan options, wouldn’t work because private plans would decline to participate. Others said seniors wouldn’t sign up for the voluntary benefit because the competitive structure would be too complex. Still others said the program would explode in costs without government-regulated price controls. All of these predictions were dead wrong. The program is now in its sixth year …
Consider it a victory for taxpayers and for the rule of law. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4–3 in favor of upholding the state’s new collective bargaining law, reversing a lower court decision that sought to stamp out the will of the people, the authority of the legislature, and a major movement toward fiscal reform. And at three this morning, following a nearly 13-hour floor debate, the Wisconsin Assembly approved a budget aimed at wiping out the state’s $3 billion structural deficit. Like many states, Wisconsin this year …
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, outlined a comprehensive plan for reforming Medicaid yesterday at Heritage. Medicaid is a program for low-income Americans, one of the big three entitlements. Hatch’s vision corresponds with the wishes of more than two dozen Republican governors, who wrote him this week to express their desire for greater flexibility with Medicaid. Democrats, including 41 of Hatch’s Senate colleagues, have publicly voiced their opposition to any meaningful reforms to the program offered by Republicans. Before his Heritage speech, Hatch sat down …
Upwards of 20,000 cribs are destined for the garbage dump later this month unless a federal consumer safety agency moves the deadline for selling the merchandise at a meeting today. The Consumer Product Safety Commission gave retailers six months to sell their inventory of cribs after new rules took effect in December, but the economic downturn has made moving the merchandise more difficult than expected. The result is a June 28 deadline that could result in thousands of unused cribs being destroyed and sent to landfills. The inventory of cribs …
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is convinced that President Obama has no viable plan to revive the economy and reduce unemployment. Two years after the failed stimulus and a year since the administration’s “summer of recovery,” the unemployment rate now stands at 9.1 percent. Without much hope coming from the White House, Hensarling said lawmakers in Congress are forging ahead with an agenda focused on job creation. “Issues of spending and jobs are inextricably linked,” said Hensarling, who spoke at this week’s Bloggers Briefing at Heritage. “The greatest impediment to job …
The AFL-CIO recently ran expensive, full-page ads in several inside-the-beltway publications highlighting the threat of violence facing union leaders in Colombia. Their ads left out the fact that Colombian labor leaders currently visiting our nation’s capital are more likely to be murdered here than when they return to their home country. Since 2000, the murder rate in Washington, D.C., has averaged 34.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the Cato Institute, the murder rate in Colombia is 33.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, with just 5.3 killings of union leaders per 100,000 unionists.
The President’s actions in Libya have put the U.S., the Congress, and NATO in a bind. The Obama Administration’s failure to include Congress in its Libya deliberations prior to launching the operation and its subsequent refusal to address congressional concerns are inexcusable and have justifiably angered Congress. As frustrating as Obama’s Libya policies are, Congress should act with prudence. It should not immediately terminate funding for the operation, which would force the U.S. to abandon its NATO allies in the middle of a war. Given the commitments already made by …
