Policy Papers
Currently showing results in the 113th Congress. See all results
Obamacare’s Premium Manipulations
Obamacare’s preliminary premium rates are gradually being released across the country for next year’s plans. Democrats promised insurance premiums for families would decrease by $2,500 a year. This is just one of the many broken promises of the president’s health care law. Since the law’s passage, insurance premiums have skyrocketed in many parts of the country. Preliminary estimates for 2015 show the problem is getting worse. These rate increases are troubling for middle... Continue Reading
June 17, 2014
Obama/Reid Obstruction Crushes Landrieu “Clout” on Keystone
This Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to pass legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline. The new chairwoman, Senator Mary Landrieu, will likely claim that this vote demonstrates her ability to get things done. But the committee-reported bill will do nothing to ensure construction of the Keystone XL pipeline unless the full Senate passes it and the president signs it into law. Success can only be measured at the end, not the beginning, of the lawmaking... Continue Reading
June 17, 2014
Supreme Court Update
The Supreme Court has yet to decide 15 cases before the end of its term. It is expected to issue the remaining decisions on the following two Mondays, and possibly the two remaining Thursdays, this month. Yesterday, the court released opinions in two cases of note: Abramski v. United States – In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld restrictions on straw purchases of guns, even if the third-party recipient of the firearm could legally possess it. Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus – In a... Continue Reading
June 11, 2014
Obama Administration Falls Behind in Cybersecurity
Late last month, the Government Accountability Office released its study of cyber incidents reported by federal agencies. From 2011 to 2013, cyber attacks on federal government systems increased approximately 38 percent, reaching 46,160 incidents in 2013. Despite the increase in number and sophistication of cyber attacks, GAO found that federal agencies “did not consistently demonstrate that they are effectively responding to cyber incidents.” Number of cyber attacks on federal... Continue Reading
June 10, 2014
June 2014: Policy by the Numbers
The key number for June is 57,000. An audit by the Department of Veterans Affairs of 731 VA hospitals and clinics showed 57,000 veterans have been waiting more than 90 days for their first appointment. Other recent numbers that also have major policy implications. Continue Reading
June 10, 2014
Six Appropriations Amendments in Two Fiscal Years
The Senate may begin consideration of appropriations bills during this work period. This comes in the midst of an intense debate about the way Majority Leader Harry Reid is running the Senate. He has tried to prevent Senators from both parties from fully representing their constituents by shutting down amendments on all types of legislation, including appropriations bills. Before the Reid era, appropriations were taken seriously, and Senator Reid himself followed this tradition in his first year... Continue Reading
June 10, 2014
Democrats Play Politics with Student Loans Again
Next up on the Democrats’ cynical election-year agenda is student loans. Never mind that Congress addressed this issue just last year with bipartisan support. Now Democrats are rallying behind S.2432, the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. This legislation would allow borrowers to refinance any type of student loan (private or federal) to market rates set in 2013. In coordination with the Democrats’ bill in the Senate, yesterday President Obama signed a memorandum to... Continue Reading
June 6, 2014
May 2014 Unemployment Report
Unemployment Rate: 6.3 percent Unemployed Americans: 9.8 million Employment and Unemployment The Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent for May 2014, unchanged from last month. It reported an increase of 217,000 nonfarm jobs over last month. Payroll employment for April was revised down from 288,000 to 282,000 jobs created, with the figure for March unchanged at... Continue Reading
June 5, 2014
Obamacare Enrollment Chaos Continues
On June 4, the Associated Press reported 2.1 million people, one out of four enrollees in the Obamacare exchanges, have data discrepancies in their applications that affect their subsidy and put their coverage at risk. A discrepancy means that the person’s health insurance exchange application doesn’t match certain details that the federal government has on file, such as income, citizenship, or immigration status. All these factors affect how much people must pay to get subsidized... Continue Reading
June 4, 2014
Taliban Terrorist Transfer
Last weekend, President Obama transferred five high-threat Taliban terrorists out of Guantanamo in exchange for a U.S. soldier detained by the enemy in the Afghan theatre. The transfer raises many questions about who these terrorists are, the statutes President Obama disregarded in this action, and the administration’s claim that it did not negotiate with terrorists. The recidivism rate of transferred Guantanamo detainees is close to 30 percent. Taliban terrorists All five of the Taliban... Continue Reading
June 3, 2014
Supreme Court Update
The Supreme Court will close out its current term at the end of this month. Before the court adjourns for the summer, it is expected to issue decisions in 28 cases that have yet to be decided. Some of the more notable cases include: Case Name Question for the Court NLRB v. Noel Canning The court will decide whether the president’s appointment of NLRB board members during a pro forma session of the Senate in January 2012 breached the constitution’s appointments clause. Sebelius... Continue Reading
June 3, 2014
Obamacare’s Looming 2015 Rate Hikes
Insurers are currently engaged in the process of setting their 2015 Obamacare premiums and states have begun releasing proposed rates. As The Hill reported on May 22, “news about Obamacare premiums will hit nearly every week this summer … guarantee[ing] a drumbeat of news about rate hikes all the way to the November midterm elections.” Expected release date for preliminary 2015 premium rates Source: Media reports Empty Promises When Washington Democrats were trying to win... Continue Reading
June 3, 2014
June 2014 Policy Calendar
June 2, 2014
Democrats’ National Energy Tax: Costing Jobs and Squeezing the Middle-Class
Today, the Obama administration unveiled the centerpiece of its agenda to impose a national energy tax on the American people. The administration will require states to severely restrict carbon emissions from existing power plants, radically curtailing coal’s share of electricity generation. This will raise energy prices, undermine electric reliability, and destroy jobs – effectively slamming the brakes on the American economy. U.S. share of world carbon emissions plummets,... Continue Reading
May 22, 2014
Obamacare Contractor Under Fire
Taxpayers footed the expensive bill for an Obamacare federal exchange contractor. They should want their money back. On May 12, 2014, KMOV in St. Louis broadcast an alarming report that Serco – a company that the Department of Health and Human Services hired to process paper applications through the federal exchange – is actually paying its employees not to work. An anonymous Serco whistleblower, employed at the company’s Wentzville, Missouri, processing facility, claimed that... Continue Reading
May 21, 2014
Republican Solutions: Energy
The Senate has not passed an energy bill since the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In the intervening six-and-a-half years, America’s shale oil and gas revolution has turned the world’s energy economy upside down. A Republican-led Senate would modernize the Department of Energy and update America’s energy policies to reflect new market realities, generate economic growth, and create productive careers. Senator Lisa Murkowski, ranking Republican on the Energy and... Continue Reading
May 21, 2014
Shutting Up Free Speech
Last week Majority Leader Reid announced his intention to amend the U.S. Constitution by advancing a proposal first introduced by Senate Democrats last year. The proposal would cripple Americans’ First Amendment rights by allowing Congress to decide what qualifies as acceptable political speech. By taking up the proposed amendment in the coming weeks, Senate Democrats are advancing a political strategy designed to help their short-term electoral gain, no matter the long-term harm to free... Continue Reading
May 21, 2014
Senate Democrats Embarrassingly Ineffective
“As far as an open amendment process, I think that was then and we are here now.” – Sen. Harry Reid, 11/18/13 Senate Democrats have introduced 676 amendments to bills on the floor since last July — 669 were blocked, and only seven got roll call votes. In speeches and press releases, Democrat Senators talk up the importance of these amendments to their constituents. But Senate Democrats have been embarrassingly ineffective in securing votes for their own important... Continue Reading
May 15, 2014
Obamacare’s Embarrassing and Costly State Exchange Flops
Obamacare mandates states have an online exchange where consumers can buy health insurance. The law gives states the option to build their own exchange, use the exchange built by the federal government, or create a hybrid of the two. Every state received a grant to determine what kind of insurance exchange it wanted to implement. States that decided to build their own exchange got additional grant money to cover the costs. According to a March 28, 2014 Congressional Research Service report, the... Continue Reading
May 14, 2014
Keep the Internet Open
On Thursday, May 15, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission will meet to consider initiating a process to impose “net neutrality” regulations. Net neutrality is the idea that Internet service providers, such as Verizon and Comcast, should treat all internet traffic equally. For years, the principle thrived under market forces and the light-touch regulatory approach of both Democrat and Republican administrations. To maintain a high quality of service on networks, ISPs wanted to... Continue Reading