On Tuesday, we noted that there would be many important spending cutting amendment offered on the floor to the Commerce, Justice, and Science bill (H.R. 5326). Well, a number of conservatives offered amendments to cut or eliminate wasteful, harmful, and unconstitutional programs. Most notably, we focused on Mike Pompeo’s amendment to eliminate the stimulus program – Economic Development Administration. The House defeated most of | Read More »
What’s worse than Congress picking winners and losers and distorting the free-market with bailouts, stimulus, and tendentious interventions on behalf of specific industries? Unelected members of the Federal Reserve doing the same through monetary policy. It is amazing to watch how many Republicans will speak with such conviction against Keynesian fiscal stimulus policies, yet they will fervently promote monetary stimulus policies by the unaccountable Federal | Read More »
When Republicans were completely shut out of power a few years ago, they railed against the absurd policies of Pelosi and Reid and the out of control spending proposed by Obama. The Tea Party rallied to the cause of freedom and limited government, and helped elect a Republican majority to the House just two years after they were relegated to the ash heap of history. | Read More »
Update: All 4 amendments were defeated, meaning we won 2 and lost 2. DeMint’s devolution amendment failed 30-67 with 14 Republicans (including McConnell) voting no; Stabenow’s green energy pork amendment failed 49-49; DeMint’s repeal of all energy subsidies failed 26-72; the Menendez-Burr handouts for natural gas cars failed 51-47. 6 Republicans supported the subsidies, including Tom Coburn! This might seem like a stalemate, but the | Read More »
Earlier today, the Senate began voting on a series of 30 amendments to the highway bill (S.1813). The three important amendments regarding energy subsidies that we referenced earlier (2 bad, 1 good) were postponed until next week. However, here is a list of other commonsense amendments that were voted down by Democrats. It is truly sad that at a time when gas prices are at | Read More »
Who needs Democrats when so many Republicans are willing to orchestrate their agenda for them? The Senate is on the precipice of passing Barbara Boxer’s highway bill with overwhelming support. Mitch McConnell is negotiating a deal with Harry Reid in which Republicans would be granted a vote on some of their choice non-germane amendments. After Democrats summarily defeat those amendments, Republicans will return the favor | Read More »
Folks, it’s not the amendments we should be focused on; it’s the underlying bill that we must block. Yes, it’s another week in D.C., and that means it’s another week of work on the highway bill. Throughout the past two weeks, there have been copious pages of ink spilled pontificating about the ramifications of the Blunt amendment and religious conscious issues. Moreover, the Capitol Hill | Read More »
Well, it appears that our efforts are paying off. Responding to our charge that the GOP was violating the pledge against bundled megabills, Boehner announced that he will split the proposal into three separate bills; the highway bill (HR 7), pension reform (HR 3813), and expanded oil and gas drilling (HR 3408). This from Roll Call: In a joint statement with Rules Chairman David Dreier | Read More »
As the original 2% payroll tax cut for employees is set to expire next month, Democrats are proposing an even bigger cut. Earlier this week, they introduced legislation (S.1917) to cut the payroll tax to 3.1 percent for employees, and for employers on the first $5 million of their payroll. The bill would also eliminate the payroll tax paid by employers for the last quarter | Read More »
As the tumultuous year of 2011 winds down, Congress will be facing a number of crucial budget deadlines. Aside for the supercommittee deadline to find $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction (over ten years), they must contend with the December 31 expiration of three provisions of the 2010 tax extenders deal; payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits, and ethanol subsidies. Now the Washington Post is reporting that | Read More »
We could have done a lot of good things with the $830 billion that was flushed down the toilet through the 2009 stimulus. That money could have been used to permanently transform our entitlement programs to free-market personal ownership accounts. It could have been used for massive pro-growth tax cuts. Instead, it was used to grow perennial dependency and for special interest handouts. But all | Read More »
When conservatives and liberals advocate tax reform they are referring to radically divergent concepts. Conservatives desire a low, flat, and universal tax code, while liberals desire reform that would result in increased revenues. The obvious way to achieve that goal is to impose radical redistributive tax increases, such as the ones Obama has recently proposed. However, there is a more subtle way that is beginning | Read More »
There is an old adage that defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” What’s worse than insanity is hypocritical insanity, which may be defined as doing the same thing that your opponent did over and over again, while expecting different results. Unfortunately, that is an apt description of the House GOP leadership of late. During the 2010 | Read More »
The Democrats have provided Republicans with a historic opportunity to go on offense against Keynesian stimulus, and apply jujitsu against the Democrat 2012 playbook – Mediscare tactics. They shouldn’t blow it. Last night, Democrats got wiped out in two special elections; losing by 22% in Nevada CD-2 and by 8% in a New York district that hasn’t voted Republican since 1922. These victories were buoyed | Read More »
Let’s forget the fact that Obama’s entire Stimulus 10.0 is a counterintuitive proposal that doubles down on the very failures that precipitated this speech. Let’s also disregard the fact that enshrining unemployment insurance as a permanent handout will perpetuate unemployment. And more union-induced, short-term money drops on infrastructure will do nothing but stimulate traffic jams. Let’s focus purely on the very numbers that the administration | Read More »
After Labor Day, Obama plans to unveil his highly unanticipated jobs plan. Much like his first jobs plan, this one will include massive stimulus handouts to special interests, prodigal infrastructure spending (as much as $556 billion), unprecedented extensions of unemployment benefits, and more welfare transfer payments. Concurrently, he will inveigh against “rich” job creators and offer a healthy dose of vapid rhetoric regarding regulatory reform. | Read More »
It certainly pays to go green. Well, at least until the greenbacks stop flowing – and bankruptcy kicks in. Last year, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Chris Horner estimated that the $30 billion green handout in the stimulus bill cost taxpayers roughly $475,000 per job created. According to the Wall Street Journal, that’s quadruple the cost of creating a job in a nonsubsidized private firm. It | Read More »
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