Congress keeps threatening to shut down over the budget, but there is at least one thing the two houses can agree on. Pending free trade agreements have bipartisan support in both the House and Senate; all that is needed is for President Obama to send them to Congress, so that they can be passed. Congressman Kevin Brady (R–TX), vice chairman and top Republican on the Joint Economic Committee and chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, spoke at the Heritage Bloggers Briefing on the pending free trade …
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) visited Heritage earlier this week for The Bloggers Briefing and stuck around to chat in our Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio. On this week’s Scribecast, we cover tax reform, Brady’s MAP ACT, free-trade agreements and what Texas can teach the rest of America. Listen to our interview with Rep. Kevin Brady on Scribecast Brady is the vice chairman and top Republican on the Joint Economic Committee and serves as chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. He was the point man for the White …
In most parts of the country, American shoppers understand the importance of getting the best value for their dollars. This type of common sense does not apply in Washington, D.C., where one day the federal government buys $16 muffins and the next it tries to pass laws making it illegal for state and local governments to buy inexpensive foreign-made products. According to President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act: None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, …
In an atmosphere of deep defense cuts, many are questioning whether America really needs to maintain its position as the world’s only true superpower. Perhaps America can nation-build at home at the expense of our military posture abroad. However, American power underpins the most prosperous global order the world has ever seen. The American umbrella of protection allows other nations to remain secure while focusing on economic growth, driving global prosperity while minimizing the destabilizing impact of arms races. With 90 percent of global commerce crossing the open seas, American …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) today reported that U.S. trade volume for the first six months of the year was 15.7 percent higher in 2011 than 2010. Exports and imports were both up nearly 16 percent. Compared to the first six months of last year, exports of U.S. goods were up 18.3 percent, reflecting the growing importance of foreign markets for U.S. agricultural and manufactured products. Agricultural exports showed the biggest growth: Exports of foods, feeds, and beverages were up 26.6 percent versus the first six months of …
“We’re cutting our own throats here, I think,” Kim Murray, from the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, recently remarked in reference to the U.S. failure to pass pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. These agreements fell to the wayside in the midst of the debt ceiling debates; however, U.S. producers and workers have been feeling the pinch as other countries have already entered into FTAs with these nations. “While we stand still, the European Union’s trade agreement with Korea entered into force July 1.… …
The efforts of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp (R–MI) to implement long-overdue trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea may soon pay off, providing a much-needed boost to the stagnant U.S. economy. Camp has rebuffed demands from the Obama Administration and Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus that the U.S.–South Korea Free Trade Agreement include an expanded Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. It is not insignificant that Camp is willing to move the trade agreements forward independently from a TAA program that he supports. Offering to …
There’s a very old political rule getting a new twist in the House of Representatives right now: When your policies fail, blame someone else. The new twist is: When unemployment is above the level you said would be a catastrophe, and you’re on the road to bankrupting the country in the meantime, start talking about Chinese currency. This is apparently the plan for congressional protectionists in 2011. There will always be Members and interest groups demanding that government restrict the ability of American consumers and firms to make their own …
Today marks the 81st anniversary of the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act. Actor and economist Ben Stein famously explained this legislation in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the classic John Hughes movie that was released 25 years ago this month: In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the…Anyone? Anyone? The Great Depression, passed the—Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley–Smoot Tariff Act, which—Anyone? Raised or lowered? Raised tariffs in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? …
June 10 marked an important step forward in Colombia’s efforts to build enduring democratic security and pursue justice: Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, signed the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law. In the past, violence perpetrated primarily by paramilitary groups and guerrillas displaced 4 million Colombians, forcing them off as much as 16 million acres of land. The Victims’ Law has the potential to provide aid to those who have lost relatives or a significant amount of land as a result of violence in the past. The reparations will vary depending …
