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  • federal spending

    Morning Bell: “60 Minutes” Contrast Between Romney, Obama on Entitlements

    The official, head-to-head debates begin next week, but Sunday’s “60 Minutes” appearances by President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) provided a contrast in the ideas offered on the nation’s entitlements and spending crisis. For his part, the President punted on a serious question about the nation’s concern over … More

    Chart of the Week: 70% of Spending Goes to Dependence Programs

    Federal spending concentrated on the 47 dependence-creating government programs that include housing, farm subsidies, and entitlements now comprises more than 70.5 percent of total federal expenditures as of 2010, according to Heritage’s Index of Dependence on Government. This represents the fourth year in a row that the Index of Dependence … More

    Index of Dependence on Government Jumps for the Fourth Year in a Row

    The leak of a video featuring former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) has sparked debate about government dependency and the number of people in the United States who do not pay federal income tax. The Heritage Foundation has published the Index of Dependence on Government for the past 10 years, and … More

    Morning Bell: $16,000,000,000,000

    Yesterday, the U.S. national debt passed $16 trillion. On President Barack Obama’s watch, the debt has increased by 50 percent, as campaign promise after campaign promise has drowned in a sea of federal spending. When he was running for President, Obama condemned George W. Bush for adding $4 trillion to … More

    Are Spending Cuts as Harmful as Tax Increases?

    Wednesday’s warning by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the fiscal cliff is likely to push the economy back into recession should bring things sharply into focus for lawmakers. The CBO is correct that the fiscal cliff will lead to a recession, but its report contains faulty economic reasoning. The … More

    Heritage Intern Award Winners: A “Path to Prosperity” for Our Generation

    Each semester, we bring together more than 60 young leaders from across the country to participate in our internship program in D.C. They are given the opportunity of practical experience working on policy research, marketing, and business, and training in communication skills like blogging and public speaking. They learn about America’s … More

    Congress Rightly Seeks Details on Defense-Devastating Sequestration

    With the commander in chief refusing to address the crippling, automatic cuts to national defense scheduled to start on January 2, Congress is appropriately stepping up and demanding answers. That is the aim of the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (H.R. 5872), which is being taken up in the House … More

    Chart of the Week: Obama Makes Defense the Lowest Budget Priority

    President Obama’s budget proposes a sharp increase in entitlement spending and more outlays for domestic programs and interest on the national debt. Defense spending, meanwhile, takes a backseat to Obama’s other priorities. The long-term outlook: Obama would make defense the lowest budget priority among the major categories of spending in … More

    The Wrong Adam Smith

    If you are looking for a great example of a national leader who can’t get his priorities in order, look no further than Representative Adam Smith (D–WA). He recently made clear he has no interest in special legislation that would spare the Pentagon from cuts that even the White House … More

    Exclusive Interview: Sen. Cornyn Says Obama Has ‘Given Up on Governing’

    The debt-limit deal this summer guaranteed a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment this year. As the House and Senate prepare to vote, there is concern among conservatives that lawmakers will act on a proposal that includes weaker language than others. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) spoke at Heritage today about … More