Since the launch of Facebook in 2004, social media use has skyrocketed. Facebook has more than 750 million active users, and sites like Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr are quickly following Facebook and growing into cultural phenomenons. It is hard to imagine a day without sending a few tweets or writing on someone’s wall. Social media has become a crucial part of how we interact with our friends, community and even run our cities. Governments are starting to take serious notice and incorporate social media into their own day-to-day actions. With …
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) introduced legislation to raise the debt ceiling this week. In evaluating his plans for future government spending, it becomes clear that budgeting for prudent defense is considered just another line item. While Americans intuitively know that national security is unlike any other category of federal spending, it is often treated with inherent bias through insider budgeting methods. Congress tends to selectively ignore what are called “baselines” used for comparing different spending proposals. This is convenient if a Member of Congress wants to generate more …
Our future should not be determined behind closed doors. Yet that’s where the White House and Congress are holding secret talks about our debt ceiling and about taxes and spending. We deserve openness instead. We don’t need another farce when the players suddenly burst from their huddle, line up Members of Congress, and rush through their plan on a quick count. The two keys are first, frequent and detailed progress reports from the now-secret talks, and second, ample time for review of any agreement. We’ve been told that participants supposedly …
The President’s actions in Libya have put the U.S., the Congress, and NATO in a bind. The Obama Administration’s failure to include Congress in its Libya deliberations prior to launching the operation and its subsequent refusal to address congressional concerns are inexcusable and have justifiably angered Congress. As frustrating as Obama’s Libya policies are, Congress should act with prudence. It should not immediately terminate funding for the operation, which would force the U.S. to abandon its NATO allies in the middle of a war. Given the commitments already made by …
For the past three months, the United States has been engaged in a war in Libya, and during that time Congress has remained largely in the dark and on the sidelines about central questions in the conflict, all while U.S. forces remain committed without congressional authorization. Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) sent a letter to President Barack Obama warning that the commander in chief may be in violation of the law if he refuses to ask Congress for its approval. In his letter, Boehner noted that the President is just days …
House Cloakroom: June 13-17 Analysis: The House returned from a weeklong recess today and began legislative business. Completing work on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill is first on the agenda today. Tomorrow, the House will convene at 10:00am and will consider the Agriculture Appropriations Bill. Patent Reform legislation may come up at the end of the week once they are finished with the two appropriations bills. This bill seeks to update patent laws in order to make them more compatible with today’s technological advances.
The House of Representatives approved a measure yesterday by a wide margin that establishes a consistent and government-wide policy denying taxpayer funds and subsidies for elective abortions. The bill, H.R. 3, passed by a comfortable 76-vote margin, and it now proceeds to the U.S. Senate, where its prospects are less favorable. If it passes there, it goes to the White House, where the President’s advisors have formally recommended he veto it.
As Heritage kicks off Protect America Month, we headed to Capitol Hill to speak with several members of the House’s freshmen class about the importance of funding defense. The video features short interviews with three freshmen: Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC). Rep. Scott, one of two freshmen Republicans among the House leadership, said that he was confident that his class was well-equipped to make the tough choices needed in Washington in a targeted and responsible way. Speaking of his class, Scott said, …
After standing off against union protesters in Wisconsin over collective bargaining rights, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) came to Washington today to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. His message? The reforms he is implementing in his state are necessary and “truly progressive.” Many Governors, Democrat and Republican alike, are cutting state aid to schools and other local governments – which forces massive layoffs, massive property tax increases or both. In Wisconsin, we are doing something truly progressive. In addition to holding the line on spending and finding efficiencies …
One issue that has come to the forefront in the debate over a continuing resolution to fund the government for the remainder of the year is transparency. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and President Barack Obama negotiated a deal on Friday averting a government slowdown behind closed doors and in secret — without any significant consent of the governed. We now have details of the final legislation, yet the American people were completely cut out of this legislative drafting process. Republicans and …
