The American military is engaged in multiple conflicts and humanitarian missions around the world, yet President Obama promised to veto legislation funding the troops for the remainder of 2011. This is a reprehensible political stunt, and it comes at the expense of our servicemen and women and the families they support. Yesterday, as efforts to resolve the debate on 2011 government funding continued, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) introduced yet another temporary bill designed to keep the government operating for one more week during negotiations, and in this case, ensure …
America is having a serious conversation on taxes and their impact on economic growth: The Obama administration is making the case for raising taxes by not extending the Bush tax cuts; Opponents counter that raising taxes in the midst of a weak economy would be disastrous. For the record, we agree with the latter group. But this important discussion should not depend on a willful distortion of the English language. Yet, such an Orwellian perversion takes place every time people repeat that when government does not raise taxes it incurs …
The pressure is building on President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to open their closed-door health care negotiations to cameras, the media, and more importantly, the American public. Most notably, Brian Lamb, the chief executive of C-SPAN, wrote a letter to congressional leaders asking them to allow cameras into health care negotiations. The clarion call for transparency shouldn’t surprise President Obama. He promised to open health care negotiations when he campaigned for President and, in video included in a Fox News report, Obama couldn’t …
President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are planning plenty of health care action in closed-door meetings at the White House today, but there are no lights or cameras. Now, C-SPAN is calling for the latter. In a letter to congressional leadership dated December 30, 2009, C-SPAN wrote: As your respective chambers work to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate health care bills, C-SPAN requests that you open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage. C-SPAN noted …
The Washington Post front page blares today: “Prospects for Public Option Dim in Senate.” Don’t believe it. Yes, the Senate Finance Committee did vote down two amendments that each would have added a government-run insurance plan to the committee’s health care bill. But two key Democrats who voted against Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-WV) public plan, Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Tom Carper (D-DE), voted for Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) version. According to an independent analysis of Senate Democrat public statements on the public option, that raises the number of Democrats on …
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has abandoned her plans to draft and mark-up a comprehensive national energy tax modeled after the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill before Congress’s August recess. According to Reuters, Boxer promised, “we’ll do it as soon as we get back” from our month-long vacation. This should not come as surprise, as problems with the bill were beginning to mount. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have engaged in a very public debate over “carbon tariffs” with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and …
There are three big issues in This Week in Washington. Last week the House passed a sham energy bill that does not give states an incentive to allow off-shore drilling. That bill can possibly come before the Senate this week. Also coming before the Sentate is Majority Leader Reid’s (D-NV) Omnibus bill that failed to pass the Senate in July. This bill contains over 100 bills that could cost the taxpayers millions. Lastly, Heritage’s Brett Schaefer wrote that the UN’s responsibilities are to help maintain international peace and Bush and …
As lawmakers in Congress wrap up their week-long vacation, America’s intelligence agencies are beginning to suffer the consequences of Congress’ inaction on the Protect America Act. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Attorney General Michael Mukasey confirmed today that the failure to renew the terrorist surveillance law has caused damage that is no longer “speculative or theoretical.” In a six-page letter to House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), McConnell and Mukasey urged Congress to update FISA by permanently enacting the Protect America Act. The temporary law expired Feb. 16. …
