“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 …
It’s one thing to talk a good game about cutting spending, but it’s quite another thing to actually do something about it. This week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to finally set some limits on Washington’s spending spree while also ensuring that the U.S. military has the resources …
Hats off to the Senate parliamentarian, who apparently has rebuffed the Democratic leadership’s latest excuse for failing to bring a budget to the floor—something the Senate hasn’t done for nearly three years. Since February, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D–NV) and his lieutenants have claimed the Budget Control Act (BCA)—spawn …
President Obama’s budget proposes a sharp increase in entitlement spending and more outlays for domestic programs and interest on the national debt. Defense spending, meanwhile, takes a backseat to Obama’s other priorities. The long-term outlook: Obama would make defense the lowest budget priority among the major categories of spending in …
At the close of business, the federal government’s debt limit will increase by another $1.2 trillion, the final installment in a series of hikes that started last summer. This last increase, from $15.194 trillion to $16.394 trillion, was essentially granted in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, passed August …
A recent article by the Associated Press leaves the reader with the impression that there haven’t been any defense cuts since the 1990s and that defense spending has not been “on the table” in recent deficit-reduction efforts. Nothing could be further from the truth. The article states that the cuts …
An increasing number of leaders in the House and the Senate recognize that the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 will impose a disproportionate burden on an already strained defense budget. The latest corrective effort comes from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R–VA). The BCA established caps on spending for …
America’s ability to protect its homeland from a devastating ballistic missile attack could be severely damaged if the sequestration process under the Budget Control Act of 2011 happens, writes Mead Treadwell, Alaska’s lieutenant governor, in a recent op-ed. He is right: The U.S. missile defense program already struggles to keep …
On Thursday, President Obama formally notified Congress that the total federal debt (debt subject to statutory limit) is within $100 billion of the debt limit and requested an increase of $1.2 trillion. The announcement comes as no surprise, because such an increase is the anticipated third and final installment of …
