The 111th Congress is officially over, and according to Gallup, it’s also officially the worst Congress in the history of polling. Yet despite its 13% approval rating there are those who are hailing the 111th Congress for its myriad legislative “accomplishments.” Not surprisingly, many of those touting those “accomplishments” are …
Republicans and Democrats can always agree on spending more money. Their default position is usually not to cover costs. But if they must, there’s one sure-fire political no-brainer: make foreigners pay. After all, they can’t vote. Next year, as Congress begins to take a closer – perhaps serious – look …
Four years after Democrats campaigned on the promise of using pay-as-you-go budgeting, their record is dismal. Since gaining control of Congress in 2007, they’ve gamed, ignored or employed PAYGO on 32 occasions to justify new spending or tax increases. Once hailed as a budgetary tool to stop deficit spending, PAYGO …
Funding for public education amid budget cuts and a tight economy is creating a political pressure cooker in New Jersey, as Gov. Chris Christie (R) and the New Jersey Education Association butt heads over education spending. In this must-watch video, the plain spoken Christie stands his ground when a local …
This week attention has been focused on President Obama’s pick of Jacob Lew to replace outgoing Peter Orszag as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. While Washington focuses on his record and qualifications, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) tried to focus attention back on the failure of Congress to pass …
Last night the House passed a “budget enforcement resolution” setting discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2011 at $1.12 trillion. This is approximately $7 billion less than President Obama’s budget and $3 billion less than the Senate proposal. However, the resolution isn’t newsworthy so much for what it contains but …
With a looming state budget deficit of nearly $13 million, many Illinois residents are wondering if their state has its priorities in order. Last night, ABC7 Chicago’s Chuck Goudie revealed $67 million in recent state payments (PDF) for a variety of pet projects. While the state wrestles with the ramifications of …
Over the past weekend Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, gave one of the most expansive and surprising speeches of the year. State-of-the-Unionesque in scope and partisan tone it nevertheless laid out some interesting ideas for debate. On one top tier issue Mr. Hoyer hit the nail on the …
