Yesterday, the House Rules Committee posted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the State Department to determine whether the Nigerian sect Boko Haram meets the criteria to be designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Sponsored by Representative Patrick Meehan (R–PA), the amendment states that if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chooses not to designate Boko Haram as an FTO, she would then be required to submit a report describing why. This amendment follows last November’s bipartisan report co-authored by Meehan and ranking member Jackie Speier …
Yesterday in the Senate, America bore witness to the glaringly obvious division in Washington, as stark as the contrast between high noon in the desert and midnight in the mountains. On the one hand is Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) failure to pass a budget over the past three years. And on the other hand is leadership from conservative senators and representatives who have put forward serious proposals to rescue America from its debt and spending crises. That division was laid bare inside the Capitol yesterday afternoon as the U.S. …
Last week, the British government made a decision to change from the Carrier Variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) back to the Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the JSF—as was originally planned before its 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. While this move was politically challenging for the coalition government in the U.K., it was the right decision. The assumed cost of equipping the U.K.’s new generation of aircraft carriers with catapults and arrestor gear that are required for the Carrier Variant of the JSF …
“Provide for common defense” is a core constitutional obligation of the federal government. Yet entitlement spending is putting unsustainable pressure on the defense budget. In 1965, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security constituted 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) while defense made up 7.4 percent. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that entitlement spending will reach 9.7 percent of GDP in 2012 while defense will shrink to 4.5 percent—even after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are included. (article continued below chart) The defense budget is further threatened from …
Yet another provision of Obamacare is expected to cost taxpayers more than they expected. The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asking for details regarding the probable loss of $3.1 billion out of the $3.4 billion in Obamacare loans to its Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (“CO-OP”). The estimate comes from the President’s Budget Appendix, and the committee is considering rescinding funds that haven’t already been obligated. The Obamacare initiative gives CMS the authority to award $3.4 billion …
There aren’t many people who justify comparisons to Nelson Mandela, but longtime Burmese political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the few. For 20 years, Kyi incurred imprisonment, house arrest, and other forms of detention for attempting to bring democracy to the military-ruled Burma. This month, she is free and standing for parliament after erecting a pillar of freedom to her country through her political party, the National League for Democracy. Kyi has won the Nobel Peace Prize and is a powerful example of persevering, peaceful dissidence coming …
In his recent piece in The Wall Street Journal, Senator Jon Kyl (R–AZ) makes the case that the United States should not give Russian President Vladimir Putin guarantees, political or legal, that a U.S. missile defense system will not be effective against Russian missiles. President Obama recently indicated he will exhibit more “flexibility” after he is re-elected in accommodating Russian objections to the U.S. expanding its missile defense capabilities. “The right to self-defense is not one for which we must negotiate; it’s certainly not something for which Russia would negotiate,” …
A few congressmen are now attempting to remove some longstanding lawful tools in the counterterrorism fight. The Smith–Amash amendment would force the government to send any al-Qaeda member captured in the United States directly to federal court. If this amendment becomes law, it would limit a President’s flexibility and take off the table lawful military detention and lawful interrogation for intelligence purposes. For these and other reasons, the proposal is unwise. Despite over-the-top claims to the contrary, last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does not impact the conditions under …
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng called into a congressional hearing again yesterday, detailing reported abuse of his relatives and friends in the wake of his escape. When lauded for his courage and tireless advocacy for victims of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization, Chen simply remarked, through translation: “I am not a hero. I’m just doing what my conscience asks me to do. I cannot be silent when facing these evils against women and children.” Chen described to the committee how, shortly after his escape from house arrest last month, local government …
No one outside of the White House knows exactly why the President decided to move the G-8 meeting this Friday from Chicago to Camp David. Speculation that security concerns were driving the change in venue is probably off base given that the NATO summit scheduled two days later is continuing in Chicago as planned. Maybe we should just take the President at his word about the switch: He said in March that none of these leaders had yet visited Camp David—in itself a pretty revealing comment about the lack of …
