On December 31, a set of approximately 50 tax-reducing provisions commonly referred to as the “tax extenders” expired. These provisions, which apply to both individuals and businesses, include popular measures such as the Research and Experimentation credit for businesses and the optional deduction for state and local sales taxes for individuals. Congress will need to retroactively extend these tax laws at some point this year; otherwise, a steep tax increase on certain groups of taxpayers will remain in place. Retroactively addressing the tax extenders is nothing new. Congress generally waits …
Six conservative U.S. senators voiced concerns Friday over the substance and procedural context of controversial legislation to block Internet piracy, noting potential economic damages and free speech restrictions the legislation might impose. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Tom Coburn (R-OK), sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Friday expressing their concerns. The letter, whose signatories include the ranking Republicans on the Budget, Finance, and Judiciary Committees, warns of “breaches in cybersecurity, damaging the integrity …
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 …
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to deliver the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress today before the House Financial Services Committee. What will he say about unemployment, if anything at all? The stakes are high with Bernanke’s approval rating at an all-time low. The hearing starts at 10 a.m. The Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee will hold a joint hearing on tax reform and the tax treatment of debt and equity. Heritage’s Asian Studies Center will host a briefing on the Global Scope of Radical …
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, outlined a comprehensive plan for reforming Medicaid yesterday at Heritage. Medicaid is a program for low-income Americans, one of the big three entitlements. Hatch’s vision corresponds with the wishes of more than two dozen Republican governors, who wrote him this week to express their desire for greater flexibility with Medicaid. Democrats, including 41 of Hatch’s Senate colleagues, have publicly voiced their opposition to any meaningful reforms to the program offered by Republicans. Before his Heritage speech, Hatch sat down …
Senator Orrin Hatch came to The Heritage Foundation on Friday to present his forthcoming immigration bill—“The Strengthening our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America’s Security Act.” His remarks, and the content of his bill, are a step in the right direction on immigration and border security—given that President Obama used his State of the Union address to make another case for amnesty. The bill was written in collaboration with members of Congress from states along the southwestern border. As Hatch said, it’s important to work with those who, “of all …
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) addressed The Heritage Foundation yesterday on the unconstitutionality of congressional action that forces Americans to buy health insurance under Obamacare. In Sen. Hatch’s opinion, that mandate would not pass muster under the Constitution, and it would be an entirely unprecedented action that is beyond the scope of Congress’ powers:
The Senate’s 54-45 vote last evening to table the Hatch-Nelson abortion funding limitation sets the two chambers of Congress on a collision course with one another – with Democrats driving both vehicles involved in the collision. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) led the way in devising and debating his bipartisan amendment, which would have extended the long-time Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) abortion funding policy and applied it to the insurance plans that will be subsidized under the bill. Conscience protections become yet another banner of liberty trampled by the health …
As Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said at an event on health care reform yesterday at the Heritage Foundation, “There is no such thing as a free lunch—especially if Washington is the one having you over.” Democrats continue to insist that the best way to reform the health care system is to centralize decision making and regulation within the federal government. Not only is this inaccurate, but it also goes against the same principles supported by the Constitution that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flippantly dismissed at a recent press conference. Health …
The health care bill that emerged from the Senate Finance Committee this week will not pass the Senate in its current form if Democrat leadership comply with procedural rules, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told conservative bloggers on a conference call this morning. However, he expects the Democrats to abuse the reconciliation process to get the legislation through. Hatch’s extensive remarks were pointed and sharply critical of the Senate Democrats’ health care plan and the “shell game” he says they played in creating and passing the bill out of the Senate …
