Policy Papers
All States Now Eligible for Mental Health Clinic Planning Grants
KEY TAKEAWAYS Certified community behavioral health clinics provide comprehensive high-quality mental health and addiction services in nine states that participate in a Medicaid demonstration program established by the Excellence in Mental Health Act. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expanded eligibility to all 50 states. In October, HHS announced that states have until December 19 to apply for planning grants to help adopt the CCBHC Medicaid model. People served by mental health clinics... Continue Reading
November 16, 2022
Deterring the China Threat
KEY TAKEAWAYS China is becoming more aggressive in its ambition to take over Taiwan, which could have drastic consequences for the global economy and U.S. interests. The U.S. has a statutory obligation to help Taiwan defend itself, which we can do by providing training, encouraging international support, and selling it weapons and technology to bolster its defense. As Xi Jinping consolidated power at China’s 20th Communist Party Congress last month, he made some of his boldest statements... Continue Reading
November 15, 2022
Winter is Coming! And With It High Heating Bills
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Energy Information Administration projects that Americans will pay more for heat this winter, regardless of their fuel source. The forecast comes as energy prices in the U.S. are already up and families are struggling to cope with persistent inflation. Europe has warned of a dire energy crisis. President Biden and Democrats in Congress have peddled excuses instead of taking responsibility for their failed energy policies. The left should quit its war on American energy and... Continue Reading
November 10, 2022
Inflation Gobbles Up Americans' Thanksgiving Budgets
KEY TAKEAWAYS High inflation is straining Americans’ budgets, making Thanksgiving dinner – from turkey to potatoes – much more expensive this year. Soaring costs are squeezing farmers and ranchers, with production expenses expected to be $66 billion higher in 2022 than last year. Americans have Democrats’ reckless spending policies to “thank” for driving inflation to painfully high levels. Soaring inflation is raining on Americans’ parade this... Continue Reading
October 31, 2022
Inflation, Recession, and Crime! Oh My!
October 13, 2022
What the Inflation Reduction Act Does and Doesn’t Do
October 11, 2022
FY23 NDAA Amendment Tracker
September 29, 2022
Democrats' Inflation Hands Workers A Pay Cut
KEY TAKEAWAYS Painfully high inflation under Democrats’ misguided policies has turned workers’ pay gains into pay cuts. After accounting for inflation, average hourly earnings were down 2.8% in August from one year earlier, continuing a trend of negative inflation-adjusted earnings every month since March 2021. Democrats’ stimulus law in early 2021 fueled inflation’s rise, and last month they voted to make things worse by passing their reckless tax and spend... Continue Reading
September 28, 2022
Democrats Try to Pull the Plug on Carbon-Free Nuclear Power
KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2021, nuclear power produced almost 20% of all electricity in the United States and about half of the carbon-free electricity. A lower-carbon future does not exist without nuclear power, but radical progressives want to eradicate it. Republicans have offered solutions to bolster nuclear power and its necessary fuel, uranium. As a global energy crisis grows, the United States must fully embrace reliable energy sources like nuclear. \ As cooler autumn weather takes hold,... Continue Reading
September 28, 2022
Democrats' Minimum Tax Means Fewer U.S. Jobs and Lower Wages
KEY TAKEAWAYS Workers will lose $17 billion in wages next year, and 218,000 jobs will be lost, because of the Democrats’ new “book minimum tax.” Manufacturing, mining, and retail are only a few of the industries that will be hit hard by this new tax. Some businesses in these industries will find more competitive environments overseas for their investments in factories and jobs. Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend spree, the misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act,”... Continue Reading
September 27, 2022
How the $80 Billion Democrats Gave the IRS Hurts Taxpayers
KEY TAKEAWAYS In their latest reckless tax and spending spree, all 50 Senate Democrats voted to give the IRS nearly $80 billion, most of which will target taxpayers with audits and other enforcement. The miniscule portion of funds aimed at the agency’s main problem – atrocious service – means that taxpayers can expect little help if they have a problem or questions. Even before the agency’s new windfall, 95% of IRS audits are directed at taxpayers earning less than... Continue Reading
September 20, 2022
Democrats Declare Mission Accomplished on the Open Border
The Biden administration’s border policies over the last year and a half have led to a near complete collapse of security and control at the southern border. The administration has still not accepted the basic reality of the situation or its own role in causing the crisis. In an interview on Meet the Press last week, Vice President Kamala Harris made the peculiar assertion that the southern border of the United States is “secure.” A border that was crossed illegally 3.6... Continue Reading
September 13, 2022
Families Can't Catch A Break In Biden's Economy
Democrats’ $2 trillion stimulus law in 2021 kicked inflation into high gear, and since then they have been on a campaign to try to spin high prices one day and pretend they don’t exist the next. Last month, President Biden cheered “zero percent inflation in July,” even though prices were up 8.5% over the year. In August, prices were up 8.3% compared to this time last year, and up 13.2% from when Biden took office in January 2021. The hits on American families keep coming... Continue Reading
September 13, 2022
Back-to-School Inflation
September 12, 2022
"Emergency" Stimulus Money for Schools Mostly Unspent
KEY TAKEAWAYS Instead of urging schools to use the pandemic aid Congress provided in 2020 to reopen schools quickly and help students recover lost learning, Democrats piled on another $122 billion. As of late August, nearly a year and a half after Democrats passed this “emergency COVID-19 relief” law, 85% of the money for schools is unspent. Students are still behind in school; at the current rate it could take three years for the average elementary school student to recover, and... Continue Reading
September 12, 2022
U.S. Aid Making a Difference in Ukraine
KEY TAKEAWAYS With the help of U.S. and allies’ weapons and assistance, Ukraine has heroically resisted Putin’s invasion for six months. Since the 2014 invasion, Republicans in the Senate have pressed both the Biden and Obama administrations, and congressional Democrats, to provide more aid to Ukraine. Military assistance to Ukraine is an investment in U.S. security and sends a message to our adversaries, like China, that the U.S. has the resolve and ability to defend its interests... Continue Reading
September 8, 2022
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act's Treatment Court Funding
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act included $750 million in funding over five years for states to support “crisis intervention” services, including drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans treatment courts. Funds are distributed via the Department of Justice Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. Specialty treatment courts have proven effective at reducing crime and recidivism and in helping people to make positive changes in their lives and... Continue Reading
September 7, 2022
Fall 2022 Policy Calendar
September 15 – Final cooling-off period in freight rail labor dispute ends. If no resolution is reached and Congress does not act, a strike or lockout is allowed. September 21 – Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee announces monetary policy updates. September 28 – White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. September 30 – Last day of fiscal year 2022. Authorizations expire for several programs: National Flood Insurance... Continue Reading
September 7, 2022
Democrats' Permitting Hypocrisy
KEY TAKEAWAYS Lengthy federal environmental reviews often delay infrastructure projects, with the average environmental impact statement taking 4.5 years to complete and spanning 661 pages. While Republicans in Congress and the last administration have placed an emphasis on improving processes, speeding reviews, and providing regulatory certainty, President Biden has moved to overturn those efforts. Before Democrats jammed through their latest reckless tax and spend spree in August, they said... Continue Reading
August 11, 2022
Afghanistan is Once Again a Terrorist Haven
KEY TAKEAWAYS Republicans warned the Biden administration that leaving Afghanistan in haste would allow the country to become a terrorist haven again. The al-Zawahri strike proved those fears correct. The administration still has no plan to deal with terrorism effectively and still does not see that the Taliban supports terrorism. Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation continues to get worse as much of the country loses access to basic human rights and needs. On August 15, 2021,... Continue Reading