President Obama’s has repeatedly promised to rein in the influence industry’s role in federal policymaking and access to top federal officials. But the president’s actions consistently belie his rhetoric, as a recent review of White House visitor logs demonstrates. “[T]he lobbying industry Obama has vowed to constrain is a regular …
NPR, PBS and other public broadcasting outlets are asking taxpayers to fork over $445 million in funding for the next fiscal year. But not if Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) have anything to say about it. The conservative lawmakers want to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the steward …
Consumer-directed health plans have become increasing popular because of their ability to save consumers money. Breaking research published by Health Affairs shows that if consumer-directed health plans increased as a share of employer-sponsored plans from 12.4 percent to 50 percent, it could save $57.1 billion annually in national health expenditures. …
An effort funded by a major left-wing environmentalist group is looking to appeal to conservative and libertarian thinkers through an initiative that proposes center-right solutions to environmental problems. The Meridian Institute’s “Twelve Big Ideas for 2012″ is funded by the Environmental Defense Fund, a group that uses its massive lobbying …
Three prominent members of Congress, all of Cuban descent, spoke out against the State Department on Thursday for its decision to grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro, and herself a member of the Cuban dictatorship. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) called the decision “outrageous …
Iran is resorting to its usual negotiating tactics on the nuclear issue: Slip away from its commitments under the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and slide by international efforts to halt its nuclear weapons program. Yesterday, Iranian negotiators ended two days of talks with officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), …
Leaving the drama surrounding Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng behind in China, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Bangladesh last week with plans to advocate trade, democracy, increased security, and human rights. Clinton is the first Secretary of State to visit Bangladesh since 2003—a move that further underscores the …
Kudos to the House Appropriations Committee for protecting U.S. international broadcasting against the eviscerating cuts in language services and personnel contained in the President’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget. If the budget passes—a big “if,” of course—it could reverse a direction that can only be described as self-defeating for American …
