With economic issues dominating the domestic political agenda and much of our foreign policy focused on combating terrorism, systematic violations of political and religious rights by some of the world’s most tyrannical regimes receive less attention than perhaps they should. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Republican representing Virginia’s 5th District, is out to rectify that shortcoming. His new book, “Prisoner of Conscience: One Man’s Crusade for Global Human and Religious Rights,” discusses his work to champion human rights across the world, and expose the gross violations he has come across in …
In case you’re not keeping track, it has been nearly 1,000 days since the United States Senate passed a budget. Meanwhile, America’s fiscal nightmare keeps growing, and those on the left—including Members of the Senate—keep advocating for even more spending despite America’s $15 trillion national debt. That’s an important record to keep in mind as the Senate votes today on two versions of the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA). A BBA is constructive, but it’s not the final answer to America’s fiscal woes despite the tools it offers—in large part because …
As one of the 12 members of Congress on the Super Committee, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) had a front row seat for all the negotiations. Since the committee’s announcement late last month that they had failed to reach a deal on at least $1.5 trillion in savings, Toomey has been very vocal that we cannot now ignore our nation’s fiscal crisis and that a deal still much be reached. He visited Heritage this week to discuss the fallout. We caught up with him in his Senate offices to discuss what happened and …
The newly formed Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction holds its first meeting this week. The 12-member panel will gather at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for an organizational session, then meet again on Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. for a hearing on “The History and Drivers of Our Nation’s Debt and Its Threats.” The committee is chaired by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and tasked with the goal of finding $1.5 trillion in savings to reduce the federal deficit. It’s not an easy goal, made even more …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. The Year of School Choice – Ed Feulner, The Washington Times Beware: New Obamanomics Plan Ahead – Brian Darling, Human Events Health insurance mandates threaten everyone’s freedom – Chuck Donovan, Daily Caller More Regulation Is the Last Thing Economy Needs – Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg DOJ’s Expanding Power to Seize Assets Sparks Concerns – Nathan Koppel, Wall Street Journal Hugo Chavez Goes for the Gold – Ray Walser, FoxNews.com America is forfeiting …
Winter has turned to spring and spring has turned to summer, but Congress and the White House are still debating how to handle the limit on our national debt. In the 1830’s, however, President Andrew Jackson set about an even more daunting task: paying the debt off entirely. America accomplished that feat in 1835, and to this day it is the only time we have done so. According to the US government, outstanding public debt totaled approximately $80 million (or $1.8 billion in 2010 dollars) by the start of President …
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) today unloaded on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act recently passed by the House of Representatives. While announcing that the Senate would be voting on the legislation Friday rather than Saturday (as previously expected), Reid excoriated the bill: “If they [Senate Republicans] want to debate it tomorrow for a period of time, they can do that, but I’m going to — I think this piece of legislation is about as weak and senseless as anything that has ever come on this Senate floor … The …
In a new interview with The Boundless Show, Bill Beach of The Heritage Foundation shocked host Lisa Anderson and her young-adult audience with his statement: “If we don’t immediately act to solve the debt crisis, what will happen is tax rates will basically double by the time the current millennial generation is in their 50’s—which isn’t that far away.“ Bill Beach on The Boundless Show Their discussion was based on Heritage’s recent report Slay the Beast: How You Can Save Us from the Massive Debt. A presentation Beach and co-author Rob Bluey have …
Throughout the debate over the debt limit these past few weeks, Americans have become increasingly alarmed with our nation’s staggering $14.3 trillion debt. Many might wonder how the government is ever going to repay its mounting debt. Unfortunately, that responsibility will fall to the Debt-Paying Generation (ages 5-30). Currently, every citizen owns $31,871 of the national debt, but each American’s share of national debt is growing. If current spending patterns continue, by the time 5-year-olds are 45, they will each be responsible for $279,738 of the debt. Bill Beach, director …
The Senate canceled next week’s recess to address the country’s debt crisis. It’s an issue in the headlines every day as lawmakers and the White House debate a debt-reduction plan. Why does it matter? The national debt is set to explode in the coming decades as spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security skyrockets. Even the International Monetary Fund has warned United States that it must reduce its debt or face serious economic consequences. Without action, the national debt will eventually reach a staggering 344 percent …
