Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) is proposing not one but two old budget gimmicks to spend $85 billion more in 2013 than allowed under sequestration. Contrary to Senator Reid’s claim that “it wouldn’t add a penny to the deficit,” this spending would in fact add every single penny in foregone cuts to the deficit. […]
Newscom The Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which funds most surface interstate transportation programs, from roads to bridges, faces insolvency in a few short years. In a House Budget Hearing today, one witness—Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation—offered lawmakers a near-term solution akin to what The Heritage Foundation has proposed: Recommit HTF revenue to funding highway […]
As Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is being debated in the states, many myths are being perpetuated by its advocates. Here, Heritage provides the research to debunk such myths: 1. Myth: Expanding Medicaid is “free money” for the states. Reality: The expansion adds an estimated $638 billion in new government spending from 2013–2023. New spending at the […]
The U.S. Senate is debating the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act. It’s a bill that would result in the taxation of Internet sales, driving up costs for consumers. The legislation cleared a procedural hurdle Monday and could have a floor vote by Thursday. This is a classic case of where the interests of big business and […]
Newscom In a speech delivered Tuesday at the Russian embassy in London, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin claimed that the American missile defense shield no longer poses a threat to Russia. This statement contradicts years of Russian officials’ objections to the presence of U.S. missiles near the Russian border, claiming they were being “pointed […]
On “Your World with Neil Cavuto” this afternoon, Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint talked about the Gang of Eight immigration bill and the cost of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. DeMint called the plan a repeat of the failed 2007 comprehensive bill. “We shouldn’t do amnesty first because we cannot trust Congress to secure our […]
Newscom Reform of the U.S. arms export control took a major step forward this week when the Departments of State and Commerce released final rules governing aircraft and gas turbine engines. However, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which the Obama Administration voted to adopt at the United Nations earlier this month, threatens to scuttle this […]
The Senate soon will take up ill-advised legislation (S. 743) misnamed the “Marketplace Fairness Act” to authorize every state to force out-of-state businesses to serve as the state’s sales tax collector, overruling the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota. As Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) said on March 21, 2013, with […]
On Friday, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced a resolution that would maintain its current membership policy with one change involving youth members. Approximately 1,400 Scouting members will vote on the resolution the week of May 20. Current membership standards affirm belief in God, require members to do the same, and forbid open or […]
House Cloakroom: Analysis: This week, the House will bring a bill to the floor to fix one of the many failing parts of Obamacare. Obamacare created a deeply flawed temporary high-risk pool for those with pre-existing conditions to provide insurance coverage while the Obamacare exchanges and Medicaid expansion were set up. This high-risk pool had […]
