Later this week the U.S. Senate will consider a budget resolution introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that cuts the size of the federal government in half by 2025 and achieves a balanced budget by 2017. It’s among the boldest plans presented in Congress. Lee’s budget is based on the reforms outlined by The Heritage Foundation in its Saving the American Dream plan. With the Senate nearing a vote on his plan, Lee will visit Heritage for a preview at The Bloggers Briefing today at noon ET. Under the direction …
The National Organization for Marriage is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute the individuals responsible for leaking the organization’s confidential U.S. tax return and then illegally publishing it. The stolen tax return was first published by the Human Rights Campaign and subsequently the Huffington Post. HRC is led by Joe Solmonese, who also serves as a co-chairman of President Obama’s reelection committee. In an April 25 letter to Kathryn Keneally, assistant attorney general for DOJ’s tax division, NOM President Brian Brown and Chairman John C. Eastman …
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) swore to support and defend the U.S. Constitution upon taking office. The founding document weighs heavily on him with each vote, and it’s the reason Amash is the only member of Congress to justify each of those votes on his popular Facebook page. He’ll speak today at noon ET at The Bloggers Briefing along with Katie Pavlich, author of “Fast and Furious,” a new book about the Obama administration’s gun-walking scandal. Breitbart TV, in partnership with The Heritage Foundation, will air it live. Amash’s approach to …
President Obama famously declared in this year’s State of the Union: “I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.” Heritage’s James Gattuso and Diane Katz have run the numbers. And Obama shouldn’t be bragging. Obama’s comparison encompassed all regulations, including federal rules for such things as Medicare rates, migratory birds and fireworks safety. And on that point, he was telling the truth. This week’s chart tests Obama’s claim by looking at the number of major regulations imposed by each administration. Major …
Not only have federal policies and inefficient permitting slowed oil and gas production, but government hurdles are also having a harmful effect on the mining industry. Speaking earlier this week at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing, Carol Raulston of the National Mining Association said the barriers to entry today are so burdensome that the United States imports $5.1 billion worth of minerals that we could be producing domestically. “It is a very long process. Investors worldwide that provide the capital for these kinds of endeavors rank the United States as dead last …
President Obama’s recent assault on the U.S. Constitution — first with his illegal “recess” appointments and then Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate — demonstrates a lack of respect for America’s founding principles, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) said Tuesday. “Loud and proud, I’m talking all over my district and any forum I have, saying this is a constitutional crisis,” Walberg said during a visit to The Bloggers Briefing at Heritage. Obama has touted recent administration actions as part of the White House’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign. From that stemmed the president’s decision on …
Pork producers are speaking out against legislation that would give federal regulators the authority to mandate cage sizes for egg-laying hens. They’re worried it could lead to a slippery slope that increases red tape for farmers on a range of issues. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), would impose costs between $4 billion and $10 billion on farm production, according to industry estimates. The legislation requires conventional cages to be replaced with new colony housing for hens — about double their normal size. Among the bill’s other requirements: …
The Senate is slated to take up a resolution of disapproval next week that would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the Internet. With the economy still dominating the national political agenda, Senate Republicans are pointing to the measure’s expected impact on job growth. Net Neutrality regulations, explained Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing, would set up the FCC as the Internet’s “gatekeeper”: many innovations in the way the Internet is accessed and used would have to be approved by the 5-member panel to ensure they …
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) came to Washington in January ready to have a vigorous public debate over America’s debt crisis. He’s less optimistic about the outcome today — a result of the super-secret Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. “I thought it was a very, very bad idea to create a non-transparent, backdoor committee to put together something that is the responsibility of 535 members of Congress,” Huelskamp said yesterday at Heritage. “I expect nothing good to come out of it.” Huelskamp voted against the final debt-limit bill that created …
Heritage welcomes Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, for today’s Bloggers Briefing at noon ET. The event is available on Ustream.tv. Follow the action live on Twitter using the #TBB hashtag. Hultgren is a freshman from Illinois’ 14th District in the northern part of the state. He came to Washington this year focused on cleaning up the fiscal mess, achieving real health care reform and enacting pro-growth policies. Perkins, meanwhile, joins us to preview the star-studded Values Voter Summit from Friday through Sunday. …
