Any budget agreement should include an improvement of the accuracy of Social Security’s annual cost-of-living allowance (COLA) payments. Press reports say this is now on the table. COLAs are designed to protect retirees against inflation eroding the value of their benefits, but the index used to calculate those payments is …
Yesterday’s debt-limit talks were “very constructive,” according to President Obama. But with party leaders still far apart on a number of issues, Obama will reconvene the group Sunday in hopes of reaching a deal before the administration’s Aug. 2 deadline. Rank-and-file lawmakers are growing impatient with the pace of progress. …
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) today predicted lawmakers would take President Obama to court if he deemed the debt ceiling is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Liberals have floated the desperate and devious ploy in recent days to avoid spending cuts demanded by conservatives. “If the president decides to do that …
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), in an exclusive interview with Heritage, criticized her liberal colleagues for opposing Social Security reform, warning that they would rather increase taxes on businesses. Hutchison singled out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for his repeated assertions that Social Security is not in trouble. …
While the national debt continues its climb above $14.3 trillion, the day is fast approaching when Congress will, once again, vote to increase the debt limit. This brings new urgency to the need to rein in Washington’s out-of-control spending binge. Since entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) are the …
