Senators Mitch McConnell (R–KY) and Chuck Grassley (R–IA) have introduced legislation titled the Tax Hike Prevention Act. According to information provided with the release of the legislation, it provides for a “permanent extension of the provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax bills, permanently patches the AMT [Alternative Minimum Tax] and includes the Lincoln/Kyl death tax provisions for 2011 and beyond (i.e., a $5 million exemption and a 35 percent rate on amounts above).” Ideas that extend tax reductions are good for the economy and private enterprise. Preventing taxes from …
The New START Treaty, a treaty signed between the U.S. and Russia, is promoted by the Obama Administration as a means toward a reduction of nuclear weapons between the nations. Senator Richard Lugar (R–IN), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told C-SPAN (according to The Hill) that “a ‘large majority’ of members in his party will back [the treaty] and that it will be ratified.” Lugar is the only Republican to pledge support to date, and any prediction of this controversial treaty passing in a lame duck session …
The New START Treaty, a treaty signed between the United States and Russia is promoted by the Obama Administration as a means toward a reduction of nuclear weapons between the nations. The problem is that President Obama was a terrible negotiator and made concessions that will harm American national security. The most important factor in assessing whether a Senator should support the idea of a treaty is whether the treaty will increase or decrease the national security of the United States. Sadly, this treaty would devastate missile defense and provide …
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) likes to say that Congressional earmarking has become the gateway drug to federal overspending. Is there any better evidence of this theory than President Barack Obama’s $1 billion earmark for a special project in Illinois that was slipped into his failed $862 billion stimulus? According to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, the Obama Administration awarded $1 billion on August 5th for a Carbon Capture and Storage Network in Illinois: Today’s announcement will help ensure the US remains competitive in a carbon constrained economy, creating jobs while reducing …
The President’s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling has called on the Obama Administration to consider lifting the ban on drilling for certain rigs. It will be interesting to see if the President listens to his own commission. These concerns were memorialized in a letter from Richard Lazarus, Executive Director of the Commission to Michael Bromwich, Director of OEM at Interior. Business Week reports: The presidential commission investigating BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill has asked the Obama administration if a temporary ban …
The House passed a little noticed bill, H.R.3940, on a voice vote on December 7, 2009 to provide money to Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands money to “facilitate public education programs regarding political status options for their respective territories.” The Senate is considering consideration of this measure before the end of the year. This idea would use your tax dollars to fund U.S. territories’ efforts to secure statehood. This is not the first time your tax dollars have been used to push for statehood of a U.S. …
Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) have put out an excellent report on the 100 most wasteful projects funded in President Obama’s $862 billion Stimulus plan. The report, Summertime Blues, is important for conservatives to read from cover to cover. This report contains some of the most egregious and wasteful programs ever recorded. One project that has been the subject of much discussion is a Wake Forest University Study on how Monkeys react under the influence of cocaine. This project received $144,541 in Stimulus funds and produced only …
The Senate today commenced debate on the nomination of Elena Kagan to serve a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) opened the proceedings with a strong statement of how conservatives should assess nominees to the High Court. Senator Sessions started with a discussion of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and Elena Kagan’s efforts to bar the military from recruiting on campus in her role as Dean of the Harvard Law School.
The Senate today commenced debate on the nomination of Elena Kagan to serve a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court. The debate opened with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee setting the tone for liberals in the Senate. The debate expected to last until the end of the week. Senator Leahy led off with the following statement: More than 12 weeks ago, President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. …
The President is scheduled to sign the financial overhaul bill today, yet he might want to pause a moment to consider not signing this bill because of the potentially unconstitutional racial and gender preference provisions buried in the massive bill. Four members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights have signed a letter complaining that Section 324 of the conference report titled the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” “includes a section on race and gender that even those who pride themselves on keeping up with national affairs …
