Although differences over the continuing resolution (CR) that failed in the Senate Friday seem absurdly small, the stakes may indeed be significant—and not just because of the threat of a government shutdown. The legislation is the first test of Congress’s will to cut spending, at least within the limits of the Budget Control Act (BCA) that emerged from the summer’s debt ceiling agreement. With the huge entitlement choices the BCA requires, it is imperative that Congress show it can really tackle spending discipline. After the Senate on Friday defeated the …
A few weeks ago, the President asked Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the agency’s draft for more stringent Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Although Jackson begrudgingly complied, the EPA is still moving to an ozone standard more stringent than the current one. The current ozone standard of 84 parts per billion (the concentration of ozone in the air over an 8-hour period—a drop of gasoline in a tanker truck is one ppb) prevailed while the EPA tried to implement even stricter rules, but since …
Most Americans identify China as the country most likely to challenge the United States globally, and many even expect China to replace American dominance. U.S. lawmakers are finally waking up to the challenge, which is not only military and economic but extends to the spheres of information and public diplomacy. At least, some on Capitol Hill are determined make sure the United States faces the challenge and the Chinese government does not get away with brazen opportunism in our free and uncensored media environment. Consider these numbers: China’s state media (whose news reporting …
Wyoming is having second thoughts about adopting Common Core education standards. Concerned with the federal strings that are beginning to appear, some state legislators are trying to put the brakes on official adoption of the centralized standards. Wyoming State Representative Matt Teeters (R) asserted: “I’m not comfortable with the fact that we’re buying into something that might have ramifications. [There are] all kinds of unknowns in my mind, and I’m not settled.” Last year the Common Core Initiative—headed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors …
President Obama just delivered a speech and announced that states will now be eligible to receive waivers to get out from under the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind. During the speech, he stipulated conditions that will be attached to the waivers. In one of the biggest education policy developments in a decade, President Obama has sorely mistaken bi-partisan distaste for No Child Left Behind as a mandate for him to unilaterally re-write the law from the White House. Both sides of the aisle agree that No Child Left …
In most parts of the country, American shoppers understand the importance of getting the best value for their dollars. This type of common sense does not apply in Washington, D.C., where one day the federal government buys $16 muffins and the next it tries to pass laws making it illegal for state and local governments to buy inexpensive foreign-made products. According to President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act: None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, …
In its latest video railing against reform of Medicare and Social Security, AARP pushes for a pinch hitter to solve Washington’s spending problem—and a poor one at that. The organization charges Congress to cut wasteful spending and close tax loopholes instead of reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits. Once again, they get it wrong on how to balance the budget and put the nation on a fiscally sustainable path. Congress can work to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse to demonstrate it is serious about controlling spending and using taxpayer dollars …
Inefficient programs that don’t solve problems and are passed against the will of the American people seem to be the Obama Administration’s forte. Now their high-minded aspirations of a health care revolution are quickly unraveling as fatal glitches in Obamacare become apparent. Next up for implosion? The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, otherwise known as the “CLASS Act,” which creates a government-run long term care insurance program too costly to sustain. At a time when entitlement programs in America have spun out of control, liberal proponents of Obamacare were …
At a recent Energy and Commerce hearing, health policy experts testified on the effects Obamacare will have on jobs and employer-sponsored coverage. The title of the hearing said a lot: “Cutting the Red Tape: Saving Jobs from PPACA’s [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] Harmful Regulations.” Since Obamacare will require employers to spend more money on health care plans for their employees, it’s expected to hinder job creation. To avoid this, a discussion draft under review would prevent the regulations and requirements in the new law from affecting grandfathered health …
Solyndra’s bankruptcy has put federal spending for green projects under the microscope—and rightly so. Green jobs programs have been a profoundly wasteful use of taxpayers’ money and are doing more harm to the economy than helping it. They don’t even provide the promised grand environmental benefits. It’s important to keep these points in mind when discussing green jobs. 1.) Government spending does not create jobs. Government spending will “create” jobs in the sense that subsidies will allocate labor and capital to build windmills and solar panels. But the government is …
