Policy Papers
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SOTU: Another “Pivot to Jobs”
With a contracting economy and still high unemployment, the Obama Administration is leaking word that in his State of the Union address the President will “pivot to jobs.” This address needs to be different from the half-dozen or more times the President has claimed he would pivot back to jobs. He needs to follow up his speech with clear and constant leadership on the economy. In his first State of the Union, President Obama promised he was focused on jobs. He immediately lost focus... Continue Reading
February 6, 2013
Not “More than Halfway” to Fiscal Stability
Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its 2013 Budget and Economic Outlook with a new budget baseline and economic forecasts. The CBO report makes it clear that meaningful entitlement reform is critical to restoring our nation’s long-term fiscal health. The President has said that we are “more than halfway” to the amount of deficit reduction we need. CBO’s 10-year projections show this is not the case. Even though discretionary spending cuts and revenue... Continue Reading
February 6, 2013
Questions for CIA Nominee Brennan
John Brennan currently serves as President Obama’s lead adviser for counterterrorism and homeland security. Prior to that, he was a 25-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, the agency he has now been nominated to lead. Below are questions concerning intelligence matters relevant to his nomination. Alien Terrorists Deprived of Liberty Receive Greater Rights than Citizen Terrorists Deprived of Life Then-Senator Obama consistently held the position that alien al Qaeda terrorists... Continue Reading
February 1, 2013
Income Tax Hits 100
“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.” – Will Rogers On February 3, 2013, the 16th Amendment – authorizing the federal income tax – will celebrate its 100th birthday. Talk of tax reform has increased in recent years, and there is hope that this centennial could finally be the year our tax code is made simpler, flatter, and easier. Brief History of the U.S. Tax System The Articles of Confederation The Articles... Continue Reading
February 1, 2013
January 2013 Unemployment Report
January 2013 Unemployment Rate: 7.9 percent Unemployed Americans: 12.3 million “Real” Unemployment The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 14.4 percent for January 2013. This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers. The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 22.7 million. These are people who are unemployed (12.3... Continue Reading
January 30, 2013
Global Zero Questions for Chuck Hagel
According to its web site, the Global Zero movement advocates the elimination of nuclear weapons. In furtherance of that goal, Senator Hagel and others issued a report last year for this organization proposing a U.S. nuclear force posture and policy for the 21st century. This past Monday, his co-authors on that report issued a press release purporting to set “the record straight on Chuck Hagel’s global zero position on nuclear weapons.” That press release raises more questions... Continue Reading
January 30, 2013
Needed: Economic Security and Opportunity
Today we learned the U.S. economy has turned negative for the first time in 3 ½ years. Real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012 contracted at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent. The economy for all of 2012 grew at only 1.5 percent (fourth quarter to fourth quarter). With this negative quarter, down sharply from growth of 3.1 percent last quarter, the U.S. is in danger of slipping back into recession. Republicans are offering pro-growth solutions. Meanwhile Democrats are doubling down on tax... Continue Reading
January 29, 2013
Court Rebukes Obama “Recess” Appointments
Last January, President Obama flagrantly bypassed the Senate and appointed three members to the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the Senate was in recess even though it was meeting regularly in pro forma session. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously that those unilateral appointments were unconstitutional. In Noel Canning v. National Labor Relations Board, the appellate court rejected the President’s unprecedented assertion of power.... Continue Reading
January 29, 2013
Wanted: An Affordable American Energy Team
President Obama’s first-term energy and environment team claimed to support an “all of the above” energy strategy, but pushed an agenda at odds with its rhetoric. In spending, regulatory, and policy decisions, the Administration regularly picked “green energy” over traditional fuels. It dismissed Republican proposals that would have utilized both. The President needs new advisers; and new advice. The recently announced resignations of Environmental Protection Agency... Continue Reading
January 24, 2013
Another Way Natural Gas Is Good for America
The United States is awash in natural gas. It has close to a 100 year supply and will overtake Russia as the world’s largest producer in 2015. The U.S. will become a net exporter in 2016, generating “net economic benefits” domestically and redrawing the energy landscape globally. That is, if President Obama and his Energy Department allow it. The Obama Administration has control over whether to issue natural gas export permits, and is currently reviewing 20 applications for... Continue Reading
January 23, 2013
Questions for Secretary of State Nominee Kerry
The Constitution requires the Senate consent to many senior executive branch nominations, which provides the Senate a fixed and critical point to review the President’s policies. Here are a set of questions about how Senator John Kerry, if confirmed as Secretary of State, might advise the President and implement policies on critical national security issues. U.S. Foreign Policy Prerogatives During the first debate of the 2004 presidential general election, when asked about preemptive war,... Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
RPC Debt Limit Briefing
The Debt Limit: Different This Time Excerpt: Treasury can take certain “extraordinary actions” to keep the debt limit from affecting government finances for a few weeks or months. To keep spending beyond then, the President will need to ask Congress once again to raise the nation's debt ceiling. On December 31, Secretary Geithner told Congress that he was beginning extraordinary actions to maintain Treasury’s ability to borrow. He did not request a specific debt limit... Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
Four Deficit Reduction Options
Deficit reduction must be part of the debate over raising the debt ceiling. As part of that, the White House and Democrats in Congress must abandon their calls for more tax hikes and embrace ways to manage America’s spending. Four options for how that can be done are: Retirement Age Means Testing Tax Reform Chained CPI These are not necessarily policies that all -- or even a majority of -- Republicans would support, but they are among the most frequently discussed. Retirement Age The... Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
Obama Debt Record Harms Next Generation
“We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt.” – President Obama, November 7, 2012 “We don’t have a spending problem.” – President Obama, December 2012 President Obama’s professed concern for our nation’s children is belied by his actual record on debt. He has increased the national debt by nearly $6 trillion since taking office, has offered no serious solutions to our entitlement crisis, and has even ignored... Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
A Debt Limit History for the President
Last December, President Obama misrepresented decades of precedent regarding congressional consideration of the debt limit. In maintaining that he would not negotiate on the debt limit, he said: “If Congress in any way suggests that they’re going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink of default once again as part of a budget negotiation -- which, by the way, we had never done in our history until we did it last year -- I will not play that... Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
Obama on the Debt: Then and Now
January 15, 2013
Credit Agencies Say We Can’t Afford Path We’re On
The debate over the debt limit is not a debate over whether or not the government should pay its bills. The President is trying to spin this debate by saying, “We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred.” But the nation’s credit agencies have pointed out the obvious: without spending cuts, it is guaranteed that the government will be unable to pay its bills at some point. The choice is between making reasonable reforms now or postponing the day of reckoning to whenever... Continue Reading
January 14, 2013
The Debt Limit: Different This Time
The day after Christmas, Treasury Secretary Geithner notified Congress the government would hit the debt limit on December 31, 2012. The limit was hit again due to Washington’s inability to deal honestly with its overspending problem. President Obama has added nearly $6 trillion to the national debt in less than four years. Now he wants to eliminate the debt limit entirely. Treasury can take certain “extraordinary actions” to keep the debt limit from affecting government... Continue Reading
January 11, 2013
30 Questions for Chuck Hagel
The Constitution requires the Senate consent to many senior executive branch nominations, which provides the Senate a fixed and critical point to review the President’s policies. Here are a set of questions about how former Senator Chuck Hagel, if confirmed as Secretary of Defense, might advise the President and implement policies on the most critical national security issues facing our country. Defense Budget Cuts President Obama has demanded defense cuts that will usher in an era of... Continue Reading
January 4, 2013
December 2012 Unemployment Report
December 2012 Unemployment Rate: 7.8 percent Unemployed Americans: 12.2 million “Real” Unemployment The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 14.4 percent for December 2012. This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers. The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 22.7 million. These are people who are unemployed (12.2... Continue Reading