Even as the President and Congress have again failed to deal with the genuine fiscal threats facing the nation, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering gambling $5.5 billion in taxpayer funds on a high-speed train to Las Vegas. The loan could be approved under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad …
The U.S. House returns Tuesday to consider the latest installment of Hurricane Sandy disaster aid. The $17 billion base bill (H.R. 152) could grow by an extra $33 billion of pork-laden spending — without offsets. Heritage’s Patrick Louis Knudsen outlined what’s at stake with the spending package this morning. The Senate’s version of the …
President Obama referred repeatedly to the debt ceiling debate in today’s press conference in a textbook example of Washington “spin,” or the art of selectively ignoring certain facts while portraying others in a particular light. “You don’t go out to dinner and then, you know, eat all you want and …
President Obama is expected to make his case for a debt ceiling increase at a press conference this morning. The development comes as House Republicans are reportedly weighing “default” and “government shutdown.” While it’s encouraging that conservatives are gearing up for a fight, it’s important that policymakers and the public …
A good test of whether the 113th Congress is likely to take budgeting seriously will come early this week, when the House considers the remainder of its Hurricane Sandy relief legislation. House conservatives are proposing several amendments that would cut enough spending to offset the $17 billion base bill (H.R. …
More than 41 percent of the U.S. population is “enrolled in at least one federal assistance program,” adding tens of billions of dollars to the national debt each year, according to new research by The Heritage Foundation’s Patrick Tyrrell and William W. Beach. That means that a startling number of …
Last week, Congress passed a $9 billion Sandy relief bill, but they are also considering a supplemental $51 billion aid package that is loaded with pork and unnecessary spending. Join us on Friday, January 11, at noon ET for our “Lunch with Heritage” Google+ Hangout on the outrageous spending in the Sandy …
New Year’s Day was tough for taxpayers. Thirteen tax increases kicked in. The deal that Congress and President Obama struck that finally—but only partially—avoided the fiscal cliff resulted in seven tax increases. Those hikes combined with six tax increases from Obamacare that also began on New Year’s Day. 13 Tax …
Even though Congress and President Obama reached a fiscal cliff deal, the fallout will continue to be felt by individuals, investors, married couples, and small businesses earning $400,000 and above (for couples, $450,000 and above). And that does not include the impact on all workers hit by the payroll tax …
The fiscal cliff deal is not only preventing certain politically motivated energy tax policies from falling off the cliff, but it’s also resurrecting ones that have been dead and buried for a year. Lumped into the 157-page fiscal cliff bill are extensions of energy handouts that were originally scheduled to …
