In a refreshing break from tradition, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $967 billion discretionary spending plan that would stay within the fiscal year 2014 sequestration spending levels. The measure would protect defense from further cuts and instead deliver the total savings through reductions to domestic discretionary programs. It was …
The contentious immigration bill (S. 744) put together by the Senate Gang of Eight is a spending Trojan Horse with several provisions that simply declare open season on spending, allowing agencies to spend “as necessary.” The bill exploits a loophole in the Budget Control Act (BCA) that allows Congress to …
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has proposed a budget that balances in just four years while holding tax revenue at near its historical average. It advances more aggressive entitlement reforms than the House Budget Committee plan, including Social Security, and features deeper spending cuts. Nevertheless, the plan also suffers weaknesses, …
The massive spending bill released by the Senate this week suffers the same flaws as the measure the House passed last week: It spends too much, fails to protect national defense, and is full of unnecessary, wasteful spending. Like the House bill, the Senate’s continuing resolution (CR)—which is needed to …
What do welfare reform and missile defense have in common? Both were gutted under the Obama Administration, says Senator Jim DeMint, who will become Heritage’s president in April. Senator DeMint is correct. President Obama has drastically decreased the funding for the missile defense program since he took office and cut …
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. …
“Among the most difficult challenges facing the Air Force is the need to modernize,” writes Michael Donley, the Secretary of the Air Force. Despite major engagements in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and Libya since the end of the Cold War, the Air Force currently operates the oldest fleet it has ever …
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 …
