The Department of Energy (DOE) holds approximately the equivalent of 59,000 tons of natural uranium. This includes low-enriched uranium, highly enriched uranium, depleted uranium left over from past enrichment, and natural uranium. With additional processing, much of it could be used to fuel America’s nuclear reactors. Depending on the spot price of uranium and the process required to get it to usable form, the DOE’s excess uranium is worth approximately $7 billion. Leaving the uranium under government control makes no sense. It not only denies taxpayers the value of the …
This week’s disappointing news on the progress of the economic recovery has some Democrats and their allies yearning for more fiscal “stimulus.” But continuing the failed policies of the recent past would be the wrong response. Instead, Congress and the President should pursue fiscal policies that stimulate the engines of economic recovery and growth. The rise in the May unemployment rate coupled with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s statement on the weak economic recovery is fueling liberal cries for more federal spending. The New York Times reports: Recent signs that …
Tony Blair’s interview in yesterday’s Times deserves to be widely read on both sides of the Atlantic. Why? Because it shows that the Eurofederalists’ delusions of grandeur are firmly alive and remain a huge threat not only to British national sovereignty but the future of the transatlantic alliance, especially the Special Relationship. It is also a further demonstration of just how far removed Tony Blair is from political reality and public opinion in the UK, but that’s never stopped him before. Blair has always been a European idealist at heart, …
Deepening federal budget deficits indicate that one component of the federal budget baseline—either spending or revenue—is out of alignment. Closer inspection reveals that spending is the root cause, but both spending and revenue deserve equal treatment in policy discussions about reducing debt and deficits. Often, however, Members of Congress and others influencing policy simply tout the need for more revenue as it suits their spending policy aims. A prime example of this tendency comes up in assertions about extending the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages.
In response to OPEC’s inability to come to agreement on boosting oil production, the White House indicated that it would not shy away from tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which holds 700 million barrels of unrefined petroleum reserves in underground salt caverns, in order to smooth over oil supply disruptions originating from the Libyan conflict. A temporary oil price increase, however, is not a valid reason to tap into the U.S. emergency oil supply, which is, after all, a national security asset. Although President Obama’s approval ratings have …
The leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once said that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” And now Iran stands poised to have its finger on the trigger of a nuclear weapon, yet the Obama Administration continues to remain virtually silent on the nascent threat, all while the clouds amassing over the Iranian Peninsula are growing too dark to ignore. Yesterday, following news that Iran plans to triple its output of higher-grade uranium, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling for Iran to …
Better than 97 percent proficient in reading, 94 percent proficient in math, and a perfect 100 percent in writing: These are the most recent criterion-referenced competency test and 8th grade writing assessment scores for Ivy Preparatory Charter School located in Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta. In a state where K–12 education results are not often highlighted, one would think such scores would be a cause for celebration. Think again. Instead, other Georgia schools are trying to shut down Ivy Prep. Public charter schools have become a successful part of …
At his confirmation hearing today, Defense Secretary nominee Leon Panetta argued that the Cold War of the 20th century had been replaced by a “blizzard” of threats in the 21st. Remarking that “for our troops, there has been no shortage of war,” Panetta will likely concentrate on winding down American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as completing a comprehensive review of military roles and missions to inform the President’s stated goal of a $400 billion reduction in security spending over the next decade. Panetta left unanswered, however, where …
There’s a reason a large portion of the world’s poor are women. In underdeveloped nations, women lack the skills or opportunity to change their environments, leaving them in a losing cycle of economic helplessness. In Rwanda, more than one-third of households are run by women, and 80 percent of those are impoverished widows. In Kosovo, 62.8 percent of women are unemployed, which often leads to human trafficking. In Sudan, a large majority of women are illiterate, and one in six dies in childbirth, according to Women for Women International.
Monday marks an important milestone in the 2012 presidential calendar. Republicans will gather in Manchester, N.H., for a presidential debate at Saint Anselm College — the opening debate in the Granite State, home of the first-in-the-nation primary. Heritage will be on hand for the event, reporting on the issues that matter to conservatives. Before the candidates take the stage, we’ll set the tone at a luncheon with two other independent, non-partisan organizations: Americans for Prosperity’s New Hampshire chapter and the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. CNN correspondent Tom Foreman …
