Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) came to Washington as the a tea-party conservative with the goal of fixing the economy, addressing the debt crisis and curbing the growth of the federal government. It’s an uphill battle for the youngest member of the U.S. Senate, but one he’s prepared to fight. Lee’s recent book, “The Freedom Agenda: Why a Balanced Budget Amendment is Necessary to Restore Constitutional Government,” outlined his goals for changing Washington. (Listen to our recent podcast.) Yesterday at Heritage, he delivered the annual Helms Lecture, detailing his opposition of …
In May of this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became concerned that terrorists may had been planning to exploit the U.S. visa system to enter the country and carryout an attack on the anniversary of 9/11. That terrorists seek to exploit our visa system, of course, is nothing new. In fact, at least six of the 9/11 hijackers had overstayed their visas. What is surprising, however, is that this time DHS took smart and effective action. Rather than pushing for more burdensome and largely ineffective policies (such as …
Ratification of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) would jeopardize American security, rule of law, and prosperity, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said yesterday at Heritage. The junior senator from Utah — who is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — addressed a packed auditorium on how specific articles of the UNCLOS are at odds with the U.S. Constitution and way of life. The treaty — adopted at the United Nations in 1982 — currently binds more than 160 countries, but not the …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Senator Casey Breaks With President Over Jobs Bill – CBSPittsburgh.com GE Responds to Charges of Crony Capitalism – Tim Carney, The Washington Examiner EPA Delays Global Warming Rules Again – Conn Carroll, The Washington Examiner GOP Lawmaker Wants Probe of White House Support of LightSquared – Brendan Sasso, Hillicon Valley FORD TV Ad Slams Obama Auto Bailouts – Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers, US News & World Report Solyndra Not Sole …
This weekend America will celebrate Constitution Day, created to honor the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention. Earlier this week, former Attorney General Ed Meese reflected on the importance ordinary citizens can play in preserving our Constitution: The Constitution of the United States of America has endured over two centuries. It remains the object of reverence for nearly all Americans and an object of admiration by peoples around the world. Unfortunately, the assault by 20th century liberal theorists and activist judges has seriously undermined …
The stage is set for significantly heightened tensions along China’s southern coast. China recently warned that Indian companies should not engage in oil exploration in Vietnamese waters claimed by China, and India rebuffed China’s implicit claim that those waters are Chinese territories. The Chinese message referred to portions of the South China Sea that are in dispute between China and Vietnam, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stating, “Our consistent position is that we are opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration and development activities in waters …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, researcher Rachel Sheffield discusses her new report on poverty in America. PODCAST: What’s the Truth About Poverty? Is there a difference between what the U.S. government’s facts and figures really say about poverty in the United States and Americans’ conception of poverty? Has big government worked in fighting poverty? What needs to be done about it? Tune in to this week’s podcast to hear answers to those questions and more.
Next month, Tunisians will go to the polls for the first time since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country last January. Voters will determine the members of the National Constituent Assembly, which will be tasked with re-writing the constitution and determining the selection process of the next president and prime minister. One of the likely winners of the election is the Hizb Al-Nahda (translation: Renaissance Party) Islamist movement, which was once banned under the Ben Ali regime but is now a frontrunner in the upcoming election. …
When it comes to the Pentagon’s acquisition process, the devil is in the details. Some details, however, can have deadly consequences for men and women in uniform. Loren Thompson offers a sobering analysis of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s (JSF) costs over its 50-year operational lifetime and how the Pentagon itself distorted the picture by making the F-35 seem more expensive than it actually is. The JSF is designed to replace the aging fleet at a time when more than half of the Navy’s deployed aircraft are not fit for …
President Barack Obama’s solution for America’s unemployment woes has been a stubborn campaign to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on economic “stimulus”–much of it on so-called “green jobs.” Report after report has shown the approach to be a total failure. And now, a new scandal involving Solyndra, a bankrupt solar panel company in California, should be the final nail in the coffin for the government’s meddling in the free market. “[W]e can see the positive impacts [of the stimulus] right here at Solyndra,” Obama claimed when he spoke at …
