While many Americans resolve to make 2013 the year they really do slim down, exercise more, and spend less, Congress could afford to commit to a few such resolutions of its own. Call them budget resolutions—something Congress hasn’t had in a while. Here are five suggestions: Cut spending. The federal …
Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK) and others in Congress have repeatedly expressed concerns about “fragmentation, overlap, and duplication” in non-emergency food aid programs administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). But a study released this month by the United States Government …
Japan’s incoming prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has an unenviable task. While Mr. Abe may prove to be exactly what the country needs in terms of foreign policy, his economic promises mirror the policies that have mired Japan in two decades of stagnation. Mr. Abe has made headlines promising more aggressive …
Kicking the can is the least repugnant remaining resolution to the fiscal cliff. The only alternatives appear to be the Republicans’ unconditional surrender on income tax rates (and conceding their principles) or simply going over the cliff. The story is now a familiar one. Congress and the President conspire to …
The latest fiscal cliff proposal by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH) is infuriatingly frustrating to conservatives, again. In exchange for $1 trillion in tax hikes—including the President’s immediate tax rate hike on the wealthy—Boehner asked for just $1 trillion in spending cuts. And, to sweeten the pot for …
The Hurricane Sandy relief bill racing through the U.S. Senate is a perfect example of the spend-now-save-later practices that are driving the government deeper in debt. Lawmakers cannot seem to find $55 billion in offsets to prevent a devastating cut in national defense, but they can easily whip up $60.4 …
Legislation to provide $60 billion to areas affected by Hurricane Sandy includes $100 million for the federal Head Start day care program. According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, funding for the FY 2013 Disaster Assistance Supplemental bill will be used to repair 265 Head Start centers. Specifically, funds appropriated to …
Last week, President Obama issued a request for $60.4 billion for Hurricane Sandy response and recovery. Yet as the fiscal cliff continues to loom nearby, many on Capitol Hill are asking exactly where that money would come from. While House Speaker John Boehner (R–OH) has indicated that he is still …
This week, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have been trading secret offers on the fiscal cliff. Last night, they met for nearly an hour, and emerged with zipped lips about what progress—if any—they made on averting tax hikes across the board and automatic, deep budget cuts that …
