Policy Papers
Biden's Border Blunders
KEY TAKEAWAYS People were caught attempting to cross the southern border illegally 234,088 times in April, the highest monthly number in the Department of Homeland Security’s history. The administration has continued its bad border policies and is seeking to cut funds for immigration enforcement. The lack of operational control over our border is adding to the opioid crisis – fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S. and seizures of the drug at the border have increased at similar... Continue Reading
May 24, 2022
Vacation Inflation
May 24, 2022
Democrats Feel the Heat on High Gas Prices
KEY TAKEAWAYS On May 10, average gas prices in the U.S. hit a record high, and they’ve been hitting new records ever since, reaching $4.59 per gallon on May 24 – up more than $2 per gallon since President Biden took office. The Energy Information Administration recently predicted the average household will spend an additional $450 on gasoline this year when compared to 2021. For months, Democrats have tried to deflect blame from their disastrous energy agenda. Now they are pitching... Continue Reading
May 19, 2022
Infrastructure Cybersecurity: Water Systems
KEY TAKEAWAYS There are approximately 153,000 public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment systems in the U.S. A cyberattack on any one of these systems could lead to service outages, damage to critical infrastructure, and potentially illness and loss of life. Hackers gained access to water treatment systems in California and Florida last year in large part due to those systems’ lax cybersecurity protocol implementation. Both attacks used remote... Continue Reading
May 12, 2022
Student Loan Forgiveness: A Handout for the Rich
KEY TAKEAWAYS President Biden may soon unilaterally forgive federal student debt, with no benefit to the millions of Americans who never went to college, avoided loans, or worked to pay back their debt. People with higher incomes hold most of the student debt, and they stand to get the most benefit from mass student loan forgiveness. Magically “wiping away” student debt would do nothing to keep college costs and future student debt from rising. President Biden may soon bypass... Continue Reading
May 11, 2022
The Biden-Harris Inflation Failure
May 11, 2022
Democrats "Fight Inflation" with Reckless Tax Hikes
KEY TAKEAWAYS Since President Biden took office, price hikes have outpaced wage gains. In April, nominal wages increased by only 5.5%, compared to 8.3% inflation – a decline of 2.6% in inflation-adjusted wages. Democrats think the answer is to raise taxes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has claimed that tax hikes are “the only way” to get rid of inflation. Their tax schemes would squeeze inflation-weary Americans even more by further jacking up consumer prices, hurting... Continue Reading
May 5, 2022
The Fed Finally Pivots to Control Inflation
KEY TAKEAWAYS As the Fed tries to control soaring inflation, it hiked the target range for the federal funds interest rate by 0.5% and said it will begin trimming its $9 trillion balance sheet on June 1. The Fed waited months before taking action to reverse its economic stimulus policy and curb inflation, maintaining that high inflation was temporary and due to pandemic related factors. Now that it is catching up and trying to bring inflation down to a sustainable level swiftly, its challenge... Continue Reading
May 4, 2022
Democrats' Green Agenda Risks National Security
KEY TAKEAWAYS Democrats point to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a reason to charge forward with their radical Green New Deal agenda, meaning a massive shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy. A 2021 report by the International Energy Agency found that over the next two decades global green energy commitments could increase demand for rare earth elements by as much as 700%, nickel by 1,900%, cobalt by 2,100%, and lithium by 4,200%. The left’s plan to rapidly transition to... Continue Reading
May 3, 2022
Putin's Global Food Crisis
KEY TAKEAWAYS Together, Russia and Ukraine generally account for one-quarter of global wheat exports, three-quarters of sunflower oil exports, and one-sixth of corn exports. The region also produces raw materials used for fertilizer production. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted processing and export of previously grown products and is likely to prevent spring planting in many areas of Ukraine. Commodity prices spiked following Russia’s February 24 invasion. These price... Continue Reading
April 28, 2022
The Border Crisis Gets Worse
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Biden administration’s radical policies at the border continue to fuel historic levels of illegal immigrant crossings. In response to strong bipartisan opposition to its irresponsible decision to terminate Title 42, the administration released a “plan” that continues its failed policies on the border. The Biden administration is maintaining its efforts to end Title 42 even after a judge issued a temporary restraining order against terminating the... Continue Reading
April 28, 2022
New Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Law
KEY TAKEAWAYS Timely reporting of cyberattacks and other incidents such as ransomware is a critical part of having effective national cybersecurity. As part of the March omnibus appropriations law, Congress required operators of critical infrastructure to report significant cyberattacks to the federal government within 72 hours of learning about the attack. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency faces bureaucratic obstacles in implementing the law; Congress can provide oversight... Continue Reading
April 26, 2022
Inflation Weighs Down the Federal Budget
KEY TAKEAWAYS The burden of inflation weighs down the U.S. fiscal outlook, but President Biden insists on downplaying the threat. The president’s new budget assumes average inflation of 4.7% in 2022, but independent experts estimate it will be between 6.2% and 7.2% this year. Bidenflation erodes buying power for priorities like national defense, and interest rate hikes – used by the Fed to tame inflation – raise the government’s cost to borrow and hold... Continue Reading
April 26, 2022
Biden v. Carter
April 12, 2022
Biden's Inflation Strikeout
KEY TAKEAWAYS Even before inflation hit 8.5% in March, it was costing families $296 more a month. As baseball season starts, sky-high inflation means fans are paying more for everything from tickets to the game to the gas to get them to the ballpark. Democrats told Americans that high inflation wouldn’t happen, then they said it wouldn’t last, and now they claim that more spending will fight inflation. It’s clear all of those claims are wrong. Three strikes, they’re... Continue Reading
April 7, 2022
Cryptocurrency Goes Mainstream
KEY TAKEAWAYS Cryptocurrency has the potential to reduce transaction costs and speeds and to increase privacy, though it could also be used for nefarious purposes such as ransomware attacks. In March, President Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to report regulatory and policy recommendations associated with developing digital assets. Republican lawmakers have called for preserving private sector innovation in the cryptocurrency industry as well as regulatory clarity for... Continue Reading
April 7, 2022
Price Controls are Not the Solution for High Drug Costs
KEY TAKEAWAYS More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, and approximately 8 million of them take insulin. While the average out-of-pocket cost for insulin has decreased for people covered by Medicare Part D and private insurance, some patients struggle to afford their prescriptions. Democrats’ solution is more of the same: government price controls that shift costs, increase premiums and the deficit, and hold back innovative treatments and cures for patients. More than 37... Continue Reading
April 6, 2022
Biden's Gaslighting Us on the Economy
KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2021, Democrats dumped a $2 trillion stimulus on a pandemic-shocked, but recovering, economy. Inflation has climbed from 1.7% before their law to 7.9% a year later. Skyrocketing inflation has undermined Americans’ economic optimism: consumer sentiment plunged 30% from March 2021 to March 2022. The president rejects responsibility for persistent, high inflation, while taking credit for the natural course of the post-pandemic economic recovery, and Americans have noticed... Continue Reading
April 5, 2022
Biden's Moves to Make His Border Crisis Even Worse
KEY TAKEAWAYS President Biden’s immigration policies have caused a massive crisis at our southern border. Now, still without a plan to secure the border, he is taking away a measure that was used to help reduce some of the problem. Last year, U.S. officials recorded more than 2 million crossings by illegal immigrants along the southern border; there were 1.1 million expulsions under Title 42. Border security continues to suffer at the hands of the Biden administration. In his first... Continue Reading
April 5, 2022
Democrats' Reckless Agenda Puts Rural America Last
KEY TAKEAWAYS Inflation soared to 7.9% in February, and it was even higher in regions between the coasts. Instead of finding ways to help families in rural communities who are struggling, Democrats continue to push their reckless spending and radical Green New Deal agenda. Inflation in America has risen at the fastest pace in 40 years, reaching 7.9% in February. Gas prices eclipsed record highs. These and other problems created by the Biden administration’s policies are hitting rural... Continue Reading