On April 8 President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed what was supposed to be the next historic step in nuclear disarmament—the “New START” treaty. However, a major rift between the two nations immediately arose regarding the effect of the treaty on U.S. ballistic missile defense. In short, the Russians contended that the New START treaty froze current U.S. capabilities while the U.S. responded that the treaty had no effect whatsoever on missile defense. Specifically, on April 8—the day the treaty was signed—the Russian Federation issued a statement saying: …
It Must Grow on Trees The Stimulus Bill: In his first 100 days, President Obama signed a $787 billion “stimulus” bill that with interest totals $1.1 trillion in new spending. At no time during these 100 days did anyone on Capitol Hill read the entire bill, despite its rapid of growth of government in size and scope. Is Not Temporary: All projections on stimulus spending assume that none of the new government programs will continue ad infinitum, which goes against the Washington trend of making programs longer, bigger, but never …
D.C. STUDENTS: SAVE OUR SCHOOLS Blocking Children’s Path to a Better Future Congress Blocks Opportunity: Congress recently approved action that threatens to immediately phase out the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP), a federal initiative that currently helps 1,715 disadvantaged children attend private schools in the nation’s capital. Safe and Effective Learning Environments: Studies of scholarship families show higher parent satisfaction with their children’s school safety and learning environment. Test scores showed that students offered scholarships were performing approximately 3.1 months ahead in reading of students not offered vouchers and an …
Government Controlled Life Stimulus: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 significantly grew the size and scope of government, doubling the size of federal agencies—including Education and Energy—and moving America toward a government-mandated health care system, all while placing future generations further in debt. SCHIP: The State Children’s Health Insurance Program was recently expanded to include wealthy adults in a government health care program designed for low income children. The expansion is funded by a tobacco tax paid for predominantly by the poor and dependent on future smokers. …
Powerful Ambitions North Korean Dreams: The development of the ballistic missile program has been one of the top military priorities for North Korea for almost 40 years. As a result it now has the largest ballistic missile program among all developing countries. Not only does North Korea constantly seek to advance their own ballistic missile capabilities, but it also shares ballistic missile technology with other nations such as Iran. But Will Their Missiles Reach the U.S? The April 4 so-called “satellite launch” demonstrated North Korea’s latest Taepo Dong-2 advancements. According …
DON’T BORROW, SPEND, AND TAX AWAY OUR FUTURE The President’s Plan Blames Bush: President Obama correctly points out that he inherited a projected $1.2 trillion deficit in 2009 from President Bush and a Democratic Congress. However, his budget adds an additional $659 billion to that deficit, pushing it above $1.8 trillion. Although Obama has pledged to reduce the budget deficit to approximately $600 billion by 2012, that would still be $150 billion above pre-recession levels. Quadrupling the deficit and then cutting it in half is not “change.” Increases Spending, Again: …
The President’s Budget The Actual Cost: The $634 billion in the President’s budget is only a “down payment” on health care reform. Experts believe that the actual cost of Obama’s health care plan could reach $1.6 trillion over 10 years. This is in addition to the trillions of dollars Obama has already spent on health care this year through the stimulus and SCHIP. Details, Please: On such an important piece of the President’s budget and agenda, there is little detail on what the Administration expects to spend with the $634 …
AMERICA NEEDS A READY AND MODERNIZED FIGHTING FORCE The President’s Budget The Obama Blueprint: While a robust starting point, the Obama budget blueprint fails to fully fund the core defense needs of the United States by about $30 billion in the base defense budget. Creates 10-Year Shortfall: The shortfall likely exceeds $1.3 trillion cumulatively over 10 years against the 4% of GDP benchmark identified as the cost to train, equip, and modernize America’s military for the next five to 10 years. Balanced Defense Program: Congress has sought to restore balance to the …
A Direct Challenge Three, Two, One … Launch: North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range Taepo Dong-2 missile in early April, capable of hitting targets in the western United States. A Continuing Threat: A 2001 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate assessed a two-stage Taepo Dong-2 could threaten Alaska, Hawaii, and the western United States while a three-stage missile could threaten all of North America with a nuclear warhead. Civilian Satellite? North Korea is characterizing the launch as a civilian satellite to minimize negative repercussion from its provocative act. However, mastering …
Taxing Every American Even Obama’s “95%”: President Obama’s energy policies will cost Americans more money, limit their access to America’s resources, and provide little, if any, environmental benefit. It is an extreme environmental agenda. Climate “Revenue”: The President’s budget proposes a $646 billion cap-and-trade tax that would cost each household in America between $650 and $1,200 annually. Superfund: The budget would reinstate unnecessary excise taxes that expired in 1995 to fund Superfund’s efforts to clean up toxic and contaminated areas, which may be admirable if these clean-up goals weren’t already supported …
