As lawmakers in Congress wrap up their week-long vacation, America’s intelligence agencies are beginning to suffer the consequences of Congress’ inaction on the Protect America Act. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Attorney General Michael Mukasey confirmed today that the failure to renew the terrorist surveillance law has caused damage that is no longer “speculative or theoretical.” In a six-page letter to House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), McConnell and Mukasey urged Congress to update FISA by permanently enacting the Protect America Act. The temporary law expired Feb. 16. …
There is good and bad in President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget when it comes to Medicaid. First the good: The President’s budget proposal takes modest but meaningful steps to rein in spending on Medicaid. The President’s budget slows the annual rate of growth in Medicaid’s budget from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent over the next five years. Now the bad: The President’s proposal dramatically increases spending for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) — a sharp departure from its position last year. Instead of keeping in line with its …
According to the Washington Post, in an article featured “U.S. Flu Outbreak Plan Criticized” Health Officials say that the Administration’s plans for dealing with pandemic flu does not anticipate strain on hospitals, staff, and the public health systems. This is true. A serious outbreak would inundate medical centers, cause lengthy delays in emergency and routine care, and trigger shortages of beds and other supplies. The Bush administration argues that it is doing a lot to help communities as part of its three-pronged strategy for dealing with the flu threat. But …
Super Tuesday is on the horizon and Heritage’s Brian Darling takes a look at the big issues at stake as voters head to the polls in 24 states tomorrow. Citing a recent National Review Online piece by Mike Franc, Darling says conservatives should elevate a few issues above the others: winning the war on terrorism, confronting the coming fiscal crisis, and making the case for pro-growth economic policies and smaller government. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sa4Ir9er-E[/youtube] Darling also touches on President Bush’s threat to veto spending bills that do not cut the number of …
President Bush may have promised to veto any spending bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, but as commentators were quick to point out, since Democrats are planning on holding back spending bills till the next President takes office, the threat is virtually worthless. Equally unhelpful is the White House’s Executive Order directing federal agencies to ignore future earmarks included in committee reports but not in the voted on legislation. The next President could issue a new Executive Order his (or her) first second …
In his final State of the Union address, the President not only raised the politically contentious issue of making tangible progress on advancing pending free trade initiatives, but also highlighted the importance of freer trade in helping America weather today’s economic turbulence and in promoting American competitiveness in the future. Identified as a top priority, U.S. leadership in concluding the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization this year would – of all that remains on the free trade agenda – go the farthest toward allowing …
President Bush used the State of the Union speech to remind Americans about the progress made in Iraq during the last year under his new surge strategy, what remains at stake there, and the need to finish the job to protect American interests. A year ago Iraq was threatened by rising sectarian tensions provoked by a massive campaign of terrorism unleashed by Al Qaeda in Iraq and by Shiite militias supported by Iran. Today, the American surge and a surge of Iraqi support in the form of more than 80,000 …
In addressing earmarks in the State of the Union, President Bush said, “I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. … [T]omorrow, I will issue an executive order that directs federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by the Congress. If these items are truly worth funding, the Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote.” This is good policy, and it is a sign of how far we have drifted …
The President made a good case for congressional approval of the three pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and their nearly 100 million customers. It was smart to frame the issue in terms of the many benefits these agreements will give to American workers “to compete with anyone in the world and empower them by opening up new markets overseas … [for] products ‘Made in the USA,’” as the President said. Especially with the economic uncertainty today, Bush underscored the urgent need for Congress to focus on …
Once again the president said all the right words. Broken borders are no longer acceptable. Immigration laws have to be enforced. The sanctity of citizenship must be maintained. And America needs the right legal processes to get the workers it needs to fuel economic growth. The White House said the same last year, right before it signed off on a massive “comprehensive” immigration bill that would have achieved none of those goals. The president needed to do more to send the right the signal on the kinds of legislation that …
