Yesterday, the House passed a one-year extension for the “tax extenders”—a package of approximately 50 tax-reducing policies that expired at the end of 2013. The one-year extension would retroactively reinstate the policies for 2014, but no further. The Senate will vote on the extension next. Last week, President Obama torpedoed—with a veto threat—a potential deal […]
Parkland and wilderness provisions added to a defense policy measure have outraged friends of the military, who call the move both a “land grab” and a slap at men and women serving in the armed forces. Considered must-pass legislation, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act details Republicans’ and Democrats’ military policy priorities. It ranks high on […]
Virginia farmer Martha Boneta’s desire to have an environmental conservation group replaced as overseer of her property has moved a step closer to reality. Officials of the Piedmont Environmental Council have agreed to a meeting Friday to talk about ending a bitter standoff with Boneta by handing off enforcement duties for a conservation easement on […]
Congress has returned from the mid-term elections and members are hammering out the details of the National Defense Authorization Act. NDAA, which has passed for more than 50 years consecutively, provides policy guidance for the U.S. defense budget. The importance of the NDAA to the defense budgeting process and its traditional status as a “must-pass” […]
Minnesota high schools may soon be affected by a proposed policy that would allow students to participate in sports based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. On Dec. 4, the board of directors of the Minnesota State High School League will vote on the policy. According to the draft of the policy, […]
Arkansas Sen.-elect Tom Cotton shot back at NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd when asked whether his campaign rhetoric about the threat of terrorism on the U.S. southern border was “fear mongering.” In defending his stance, Cotton said, “As long as our border is open and it’s defenseless, then it’s not just an immigration issue. It’s […]
Recently I had the pleasure of testifying at a Senate hearing. The topic was “Improving Financial Institution Supervision: Examining and Addressing Regulatory Capture.” “Regulatory capture” refers to a common phenomenon: individuals serving as regulators come to identify with the firms they regulate at least as much as with the agencies that employ them. Thus, the regulator […]
Ali Albayati, a neurologist in Iraq, learned of a little boy wounded in deadly bombings by ISIS terrorists the old-fashioned way: through a written story. Back-to-back car bomb attacks Aug. 7 struck a building in Kirkuk, Iraq, used by Shiite Muslims for religious purposes, reportedly killing and wounding scores of people. Among the severely injured […]
After three years in the Army and deployment to Iraq, this soldier like many others struggled to pay the bills and find a job. So “Pranking It Forward,” a charity campaign that does “pranks for good,” teamed up with “Extra” host Mario Lopez and first lady Michelle Obama to bring him the surprise of his life. The veteran, […]
President Obama last evening appeared to toughen his stance against rioting and looting in the wake of Monday’s grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., saying he has “no sympathy” for such violence. “I’ve never seen a civil rights law or a health care bill or an immigration bill result because a car got burned,” Obama […]
