As Washington ties itself up in knots over what the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the Supercommittee, will recommend to Congress, thirty-three Senators are standing tall against continued overspending and overborrowing. In a letter of November 3, 2011, to the Members of the Supercommittee, Senators Jim DeMint, John Cornyn, Kelly Ayotte and thirty others said that the Supercommittee’s recommendations need to meet the following criteria: “balance our budget within ten years; “place entitlements on a path to fiscal solvency; “comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates and …
With the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of trade talks at a standstill, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is taking action by giving poor nations “ongoing and absolute access to 100 per cent of [Australia’s] trade markets.” The United States should follow in Australia’s footsteps by removing all barriers to imports from poor nations. According to Gillard, “Economic growth and trade is the surest way out of poverty, the surest way to create jobs and spread growth.” Poor countries have had free access to Australia’s market since 2003 with no …
Click here to join us on right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” online chat. We are joined by Heritage’s Budget expert Pat Knudsen. He is taking your questions about our new Appropriations tracker, what needs to be cut from the budget, and what the super committee should focus on. Join us with your questions! Lunch with Heritage feat. Pat Knudsen
Two new chapters in the Solyndra scandal were written today, one involving a potential bailout of the company and the latest regarding Congress’s move to subpoena the White House for related communications. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General is “is investigating more than 100 potential instances of criminal abuse of stimulus loan monies,” according to a Daily Caller report. The Washington Timesreports on the Solyndra subpoena: By a 14-9 party-line vote the Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigative subcommittee authorized issuing a subpoena for any White House documents …
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Health held a hearing asking the question, “Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?” Many of the panelists responded with a resounding “yes.” Fulfilling a broader requirement of Obamacare that dictates mandatory coverage of certain “preventative services,” the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an interim final rule in August that requires nearly all insurance companies to cover contraception, sterilization, and education and counseling regarding such services—without cost to the insured. The rule includes mandatory …
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) visited Heritage this week to give the annual B.C. Lee lecture, focusing on the importance of American leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. After his speech, he sat down with us for a wide-ranging interview. When asked about President Obama’s handling of foreign policy, Lieberman described his performance as “mixed”: Because we were so focused after 9/11 on the threat of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, I don’t think President [George W.] Bush got the credit he deserved for a dramatic improvement in our relationship with …
As goes Williston, North Dakota, so goes the nation? That’s probably not a phrase you’ve heard before, but if we opened access to our domestic energy sources, Williston could be the poster child for jumpstarting economic growth in many areas of the country. In fact, the state of North Dakota has been the poster child for what can happen when we unleash free enterprise and allow states to develop and commercialize their resources. North Dakota is drilling at record pace, with oil production doubling from 2008 to 2010. MSNBC’s Brian …
The European press has a death grip on the idea that China will provide the huge sums of money necessary to make a dent in the EU financial crisis. Like most things involving the EU, the crisis has progressed at a snail’s pace. This has given the media the chance to recycle the “China is coming!” story again and again, despite the lack of evidence. In fact, the barriers to a Chinese bailout are daunting for several reasons. 1. The Scale of the Problem The EU does not need €10 …
Air Force One winged its way to another exotic destination last night. When President Obama arrives at the posh seaside resort in Cannes, France, for the latest meeting of the G-20 today, he should ignore all the fluff put forth by French President and G-20 host Nicolas Sarkozy—a prescription of higher taxes, expanded regulation, and more statism (especially for developing countries) will not solve the EU debt crisis. As Heritage’s Nile Gardiner writes in an op-ed, and as many others have written, the U.S. and European debt crises cannot be …
