When the House passed its “farm-only” farm bill last week, there was plenty to be critical about, including how the bill was rushed through the process and didn’t provide real reforms to agriculture policy. The bill did take the important procedural step of separating food stamps from agriculture policy so that each could be considered […]
House Cloakroom: July 15 – July 19 Analysis: The House is set to have a busy week dealing with Obamacare, education reform, and defense funding. In the wake of the Obama Administration’s decision to delay implementation of the Obamacare employer mandate for a year, the House will take action on both of Obamacare’s mandates. It […]
The U.S. and China yesterday announced that they are restarting talks on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT). Given China’s track record, it’s not clear that a BIT is a useful step now or in the near future. It may be a good thing, then, that one is not likely to be completed and put in […]
Uli Deck/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom American regulators yesterday agreed, both internally and with the European Union, on how to deal with the trading of financial derivatives beyond U.S. shores. The EU and U.S. essentially decided to treat each other’s rules as “close enough.” While the decision has some value, it continues to miss the point. No set of […]
CNSNews.com – The number of Americans receiving subsidized food assistance from the federal government has risen to 101 million, representing roughly a third of the U.S. population. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a total of 101,000,000 people currently participate in at least one of the 15 food programs offered by the agency, at […]
High Speed Rail Authority/ZUMApress/Newscom Let’s call it former Transportation Secretary Ray H. LaHood’s eleventh-hour pardon of federal and California taxpayers. Once positioned by the Obama Administration as its transportation pièce de résistance, the XpressWest high-speed rail (HSR) line from Victorville, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, has been derailed. Today, Senator Jeff Sessions (R–AL) and Representative […]
The House leadership appears to be pulling a fast one on the American public and even fellow House members when it comes to the farm bill. The House has split up the farm-related programs and food stamps, which is great news. However, they didn’t make a single reform. That’s not the worst part, though. Every […]
Don’t you love it when the conventional wisdom gets turned on its head? What was supposed to happen in Washington a couple of weeks ago—passing the pork-laden food stamp bill known as the “farm” bill—didn’t happen. The special interests expected it to happen. Most of official Washington expected it to happen. But Heritage and our […]
Last week, the Obama Administration attempted to spin its announcement of a one-year delay in Obamacare’s employer mandate as an effort to implement the law “in a careful, thoughtful manner.” Don’t be fooled. Even Democrats have admitted the law has turned into a massive “train wreck,” with delays, glitches, and problems aplenty. Here are a […]
Jim Gilmore. (Photo: Kim Morris/ZUMA Press/Newscom) The misnamed Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), commonly called the Internet sales tax, recently passed the Senate and awaits action in the House. If it becomes law, it would force online retailers to collect sales taxes from residents in states in which the businesses have no attachment. It would overturn […]
