An examination of “administrative earmarks” around the time of congressional votes on key pieces of President Obama’s agenda suggests the White House used its power to fund local projects as a means to “buy” votes for major legislative efforts. Administrative earmarking refers to the federal government’s allocation of funds from …
In an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sharply criticized President Obama for engaging in class warfare and accused him of shifting the focus away from his own failed policies in advance of next year’s election. “My view is he’ll have a hard time …
Bowing to competitive pressures, Bank of America yesterday scrapped plans to impose a monthly debit card fee. The proposed charge antagonized customers and provoked vitriol from politicians all too eager to deflect blame for the dumb regulations that prompted the fee in the first place. But as much as one …
When Bank of America announced a new $5 debit card fee in late September (along with a slew of other banks), President Barack Obama condemned it, and yesterday some Democrat Members of Congress called on Attorney General Eric Holder to launch an investigation. Unfortunately, they’re setting their sights on the wrong target. Instead …
Richard Cordray, President Obama’s pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, won approval from the Senate Banking Committee last week on a party-line vote. His confirmation to run the new agency faces fierce opposition from Republicans, who have vowed to block Senate approval until reforms are made to the agency. Sen. …
In this week’s Heritage in Focus, regulatory fellow Diane Katz discusses a provision in the regulatory reform bill, also known as Dodd-Frank, that is leading banks to increase debit card fees. Listen here. The provision, known as the “Durbin amendment,” limits the amount banks can charge retailers when consumers swipe …
As if further evidence actually is needed, Bank of America on Thursday demonstrated yet again how government price controls inevitably harm consumers—and low-income consumers the most. In this instance, the nation’s largest bank (by assets) announced on Thursday a new $5 monthly fee for use of a debit card. Several …
You would think that any regulation that could affect a major part of the economy and cost industry and/or consumers millions of dollars to comply with would be based on rigorous and consistent economic analysis. After all, how else would regulators know the actual effect of their proposals and whether …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretaries? – Stephen Ohlechmacher, Associated Press Billionaire Backer Disputes Charges That Company Sought White House Help to Influence Testimony – James Rosen, FoxNews.com …
Be sure to listen to last week’s Heritage Libertad radio show, both in English and Spanish. The show included segments on President Obama’s upcoming jobs speech, the role of religion in politics and, as always, a segment answering Heritage member questions. Questions included: Is the United States a democracy or …
