Many state lawmakers are concerned that if their states accept Obamacare grant funding, they will be implementing policies counter to the states’ best interests. In any battle, it is wise to pick targets strategically. Obamacare is a many-headed monster—its funding is not one block grant. Conservatives should focus on refusing federal funding for elements of Obamacare that are integral to the legislation’s design and have significant policy consequences—while giving lower priority to funding that doesn’t meet both of those tests. The Obamacare grant programs now attracting the most attention are …
President Obama’s plan for turning America around is big on new spending, with insincere promises of budget cuts to come later. In particular, the President called on Congress to spend an additional $5 billion on federal subsidies for the salaries of local police officers and firefighters. The additional $5 billion would be allocated to the “hiring” grant program operated by Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program administered by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We’ve seen this playbook before. In …
A recent report by the National Urban Area Initiative Association attempts to demonstrate that the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, created in 2003, is an effective homeland security program. Administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the UASI program allocates grant funding to help high-risk, high-density urban areas develop the capacity “to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.” While the National UASI Association report attempts to demonstrate the effectiveness of UASI grants, the report’s findings must be interpreted with caution. First, the …
Normally, in exchange for a loan, you agree to pay the bank the principal borrowed along with interest. You would never think of then giving the money back to the bank so that the bank could remodel, sweep the parking lot, or buy cases of those squiggly government-approved light bulbs. If the bank wants to do that, they can pay for it themselves. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does things differently. While the People’s Republic of China holds over $1.1 trillion of our debt, EPA is busy giving grants to …
Last year, GM CEO Rick Wagoner “voluntarily” stepped aside when Washington took over his company. BP is “voluntarily” setting up a $20 billion escrow account. And now, states are being pushed to “voluntarily” adopt national education standards and tests. It all began when the Obama administration used its $4.35 billion Race to the Top competitive grant fund as an incentive for states to adopt standards under development by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers (one of the “education blob” groups that protects the status …
The Department of Education today released the names of the 16 finalists in the competition for federal Race to the Top (RttT) grants. The finalists include the District of Columbia and 15 states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In all, 40 states had applied for the grants. In March, state leaders will come to Washington to deliver presentations on why their states merit a slice of the $4.35 billion in grants. Winners will be announced …
Kentucky is to be the recipient of $11.9 million federal dollars in pork. A Kentucky news station reported that the money was “to increase preparedness and response measures across the state,” however such federal grants are actually undermining state homeland security preparedness measures. According to a Heritage WebMemo by Homeland Security Policy Analyst Jena McNeill, since 9/11 the federal government has allocated $23 billion in homeland security grants. This money has essentially become another entitlement. States are cutting their own spending on homeland security, especially in these harder economic times, …
