Policy Papers
Currently showing results in the 113th Congress. See all results
Obamacare’s Headlines = More Bad News
Week after week, there is more bad news for President Obama’s health care law. Rather than own up to the law’s failures, the President goes back to what he does best: campaigning. But the bad news just keeps on coming: IRS Union Says No to Obamacare. The IRS is one of the chief agencies responsible for enforcing the health care law. But the union representing many of the agency’s employees asked its members to actively oppose congressional efforts to require IRS staff to buy... Continue Reading
August 2, 2013
July Unemployment Report
July 2013 Unemployment Rate: 7.4 percent Unemployed Americans: 11.5 million “Real” Unemployment The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 14.0 percent for July 2013, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points. This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers. The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 22.1 million. These are people who are unemployed... Continue Reading
July 31, 2013
GDP Report: Obama Tax, Spend Policy is Failing
The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2013. This comes after subpar real GDP growth of 2.5 percent, 1.8 percent, and 2.8 percent in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Growth in the first quarter of 2013 was 1.1 percent, revised down from 1.8 percent. Today’s release includes revisions of GDP data going back to 1929, intended to more accurately measure GDP. The new revisions show that in the middle of President Obama’s “recovery”... Continue Reading
July 30, 2013
FHFA Director in Charge of $5 Trillion in Mortgages
Soon the Senate will consider the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The director of the FHFA is not only a regulator, but also conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two extremely large, highly complex businesses. Vast Authority, Little Oversight Congress created the FHFA in 2008 and gave it enormous power to oversee Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. In September 2008, the FHFA director used his authority to... Continue Reading
July 30, 2013
Obama Sneers at Keystone XL Pipeline Jobs
This past weekend, President Obama sneered at the jobs the Keystone XL pipeline would create as a “blip relative to the need” -- even though his State Department projects the pipeline construction could support 42,000 jobs across the country. He is the last man standing between Americans and the jobs, economic growth, and energy security the pipeline will generate. Earlier this month, the President spoke about the need to “clear the red tape” and get such projects... Continue Reading
July 30, 2013
Mel Watt’s Risky Record
President Obama’s nominee to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Congressman Mel Watt, was wrong on housing issues in the lead-up to the financial crisis. There is no indication that his policies have changed. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both government sponsored enterprises, are badly in need of reform – but not in the vision of Congressman Watt. Watt ‘On the Record’ In a May 2013 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Watt didn’t know answers to some... Continue Reading
July 25, 2013
Bipartisan Opposition to Obamacare Continues to Grow
It has been three years since Washington Democrats forced passage of their health care law on a party-line vote. On March 28, 2010, Senator Schumer – then Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Conference – claimed on Meet the Press, “[A]s people learn about the bill, and now that the bill is enacted, it’s going to become more and more popular.” Senator Schumer’s prediction never came true. The law remains unpopular, with one survey showing 55 percent of... Continue Reading
July 24, 2013
Obama Campaign Rhetoric vs. Governing Reality
During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Senator Obama decried the practice of rewarding political favorites with Administration jobs, stating, “When it comes to hiring people in my administration, the litmus test we’ll apply will not be based on party or ideology, but qualification and experience ... The days of using the White House as another arm of the Republican National Committee are over.” He added, “this is the kind of politics that will end when I am... Continue Reading
July 24, 2013
Taking on Genuine Tax Reform
The Senate Finance Committee has started with a “blank slate” approach to tax reform, in which all tax expenditures are eliminated. Advocates can add tax provisions back in if the provision grows the economy, increases tax fairness, or achieves “other important policy objectives.” The Chairman and Ranking Member note that Congress has made more than 15,000 changes to the tax code since the last tax reform in 1986. It is no wonder that it costs Americans 6.1 billion hours... Continue Reading
July 23, 2013
Obama says law: “Doing what it’s designed to do”
“Nobody counted on the hiccups turning into cardiac arrest.” – Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2013 President Obama plans to travel the country this summer to convince people that his health care law is a good deal for them and the nation’s economy. Rather than admit his law costs too much and fails to work the way he promised, the President and Democrats just keep trying to sell it. As the President asks the American people to trust his campaign-style... Continue Reading
July 23, 2013
President Re-re-re-Focuses on Economy
The President will hit the road starting this week for campaign-style speeches in Illinois, Florida, and Missouri. The President plans once again to “pivot” to jobs. His senior advisor wrote Sunday evening the President will talk about “what it means to be middle class in America: job security, a good education, a home to call your own, affordable health care when you get sick.” Five years in office, and four years after the recession ended, our country needs more than... Continue Reading
July 18, 2013
Obamacare’s New York Miracle
Local officials and insurance carriers are slowly releasing proposed 2014 Obamacare state exchange health plan rates this summer. They show how the health care law affects coverage costs in both the individual and small group markets. This week, the state of New York released the rates New Yorkers will have to pay to buy health insurance in its health care exchange. State insurance regulators said the approved individual market rates “represent a 53 percent reduction” compared to... Continue Reading
July 16, 2013
Harry Reid Makes Senate Committees Irrelevant
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has created a Senate where he matters infinitely more than committees do. Under his rule, Senate committees have deteriorated. Bills routinely bypass markup and go straight to the Senate floor under the Leader’s use of Rule XIV. Authorization bills get punted past their deadlines. Conference committees are a rarity. And oversight of the executive branch has been severely neglected. Nonfunctioning on Nominations When it comes to executive nominations, the... Continue Reading
July 11, 2013
Obamacare: Critical System Failure
Before the July 4th holiday, the Obama Administration issued its infamous blog post by an Assistant Secretary of Treasury announcing the President planned to delay for one year his health care law’s employer mandate. Three days later, buried in 606 pages of regulations, the Administration quietly revealed that state exchanges will not be required to verify either people’s annual household income or if they get affordable insurance coverage from their employer. When a person applies... Continue Reading
July 11, 2013
Reid Ignores the Facts
All Americans and all states deserve to have their voices heard in the U.S. Senate, regardless of party affiliation. Majority Leader Reid insists on damaging this unique legislative body by changing the rules to shut the minority party – the Americans and states it represents – out of the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent role. He has decided to do this on the flimsy, and false, premise that President Obama’s nominees have not been treated fairly. Worse yet, his... Continue Reading
July 9, 2013
President Obama’s Part-Time Economy
Last Friday’s jobs report showed the unemployment rate unchanged at 7.6 percent for June 2013. Job creation continues to be below what we should have nearly four years after the end of the recession. “Real” Unemployment The number of people working part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 322,000 to 8.2 million in June. These people were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were... Continue Reading
July 9, 2013
July 2013: Policy by the Numbers
The key number last week was 322,000. According to the June jobs report, people employed part-time for economic reasons spiked by 322,000 jobs last month. This came on the heels of the Obama administration recognizing the health care law’s employer mandate needed to be delayed. Other recent numbers also have major policy implications. Continue Reading
July 9, 2013
Yes, Obamacare Will Make Premiums Go Up
Last week the Wall Street Journal published an analysis showing how the health care law will raise premium rates. Americans – particularly young, healthy adults – “could see insurance rates double or even triple when they look to buy individual coverage” starting next year. Why? President Obama’s health care law. Specifically, the study reviewed proposed premium rates in eight states. In Richmond, Virginia, for example, a 40 year-old nonsmoking male can buy a health... Continue Reading
July 5, 2013
June 2013 Unemployment Report
June 2013 Unemployment Rate: 7.6 percent Unemployed Americans: 11.8 million “Real” Unemployment The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 14.3 percent for June 2013, an increase of 0.5 percentage points. This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers. The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 22.6 million. These are people... Continue Reading
June 27, 2013
Questions for FHFA Nominee Watt
The Constitution requires Senate consent of many senior executive branch nominations. This affords the Senate a critical opportunity to review the President’s policies. Congressman Melvin Watt has been nominated to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA). In addition to advising the President on housing issues, the FHFA director serves as regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Here are a set of questions that would inform how Rep. Watt, if... Continue Reading