Policy Papers
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Rising Prices Hit American Families
KEY TAKEAWAYS Americans are paying higher prices for many of the goods and services they can’t do without. The Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 5.4% in June from one year ago, following a 5% jump in May. Democrats passed a unilateral $2 trillion spending law earlier this year, despite warnings from Republicans and others that excessive spending could pressure inflation. Now Democrats want to spend trillions of dollars more. Recently, Americans have watched... Continue Reading
June 14, 2021
Biden Tax Hikes Hurt American Entrepreneurs
KEY TAKEAWAYS As part of President Biden’s $3.4 trillion tax hike, he wants to raise taxes on the heart of American entrepreneurship: small businesses and family farms. The president’s tax plan would raise the cost of doing business, take a larger chunk if a business is sold, and grab even more if it is passed on when the owner dies. Business tax hikes ultimately fall on workers in the form of fewer jobs and lower wages. As part of President Biden’s $3.4 trillion tax... Continue Reading
May 28, 2021
President Biden's Budget
KEY TAKEAWAYS President Biden’s budget request proposes a 16.5% increase in non-defense discretionary spending in fiscal year 2022, versus a 1.6% increase for national defense. The president’s proposed topline for defense is actually a decrease from FY 2021 after accounting for inflation, reversing commitments to provide the resources our military needs to respond to growing threats. His budget envisions an ever-greater role for the federal government in the lives and livelihoods of... Continue Reading
May 25, 2021
Biden Tax Hikes: A Plan to Put America Last
KEY TAKEAWAYS Prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, there was bipartisan consensus that we needed to bring the tax burden on U.S. businesses in line with our global competitors. Now President Biden wants to go backward by raising taxes on U.S. job creators, putting them at a significant disadvantage against their foreign competitors. Higher taxes are not a way to advance American innovation and leadership; they are a mistake that will alter the trajectory of our economic... Continue Reading
May 24, 2021
Democrats' Tax and Spend Monster
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Biden administration laid out plans for $7 trillion in new spending in less than four months in office. This dwarfs previous federal spending and is nearly as much as what the U.S. has spent on all wars since World War I. The administration has also proposed $3.4 trillion in tax hikes on job creators, workers, small businesses, and family farms – the largest tax hike in half a century. The Biden administration committed to $7 trillion in new spending in its first... Continue Reading
April 30, 2021
Democrats' Tax Hikes Will Hurt Recovery
KEY TAKEAWAYS President Biden has proposed a mammoth $2 trillion tax hike − in the midst of an economic recovery − to pay for Democrats’ spending spree. Biden’s tax increases would slow economic growth, reduce wages, and undermine American competitiveness. The pre-COVID U.S. economy was thriving due to pro-growth policies like the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. President Biden’s tax increases would cripple the economic recovery. The 2017 Republican tax reform... Continue Reading
March 26, 2021
The Pro Act: Bad for Workers, Bad for Businesses
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Democrats’ “Protecting the Right to Organize” Act would sabotage the economic recovery just as businesses are trying to make it past the pandemic and Americans are trying to return to work. The bill’s policies would curb workers’ choices, threaten jobs, and increase costs on employers. These include overriding state right-to-work laws, limiting Americans’ freedom to work as independent contractors, and allowing boycotts at businesses not... Continue Reading
March 23, 2021
Growing the Welfare State in the Name of COVID Relief
KEY TAKEAWAYS What American workers need is an open economy, a bridge of support as the economy rebounds, and a federal benefit structure that does not serve as a disincentive to return to work. Democrats’ $1.9 trillion spending law is a massive expansion of the federal welfare state, with direct government support decoupled from need and disconnected from the dignity of work. This radical expansion of the federal government’s income support is made worse by a looming benefit cliff... Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
H.R.1319 – American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – Final Text
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Senate passed the Democrats’ nearly $2 trillion reconciliation bill on a party-line vote of 50-49 on March 6. The House passed the final version of the bill on March 10 by a vote of 220-211, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting against it. This paper summarizes the notable provisions of H.R.1319 as amended in the Senate and passed by both chambers. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was considered under the budget reconciliation process. The partisan... Continue Reading
March 3, 2021
FY21 Reconciliation Amendment Tracker
March 3, 2021
Democrats' Partisan Wish List
KEY TAKEAWAYS After five bipartisan COVID-19 relief packages, Democrats are now ramming through a nearly $2 trillion liberal policy wish list and calling it COVID relief. The Democrats’ legislation would spend hundreds of billions of dollars on untargeted ‘relief’ and advance policies that have nothing to do with COVID recovery. According to the Congressional Budget Office, much of the money labeled as ‘emergency relief’ would not be spent for several... Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
Democrats' Flawed 'Relief' Plan
KEY TAKEAWAYS Congress has provided unprecedented support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The economy is bouncing back strongly, with GDP projected to return to its pre-pandemic level by the middle of this year. Instead of focusing on overcoming the virus and supporting people who have been harmed the most by it, the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion legislation spends hundreds of billions of dollars on untargeted ‘relief’ and advances policies that have nothing to do with COVID... Continue Reading
February 3, 2021
COVID-19 Relief Funding
KEY TAKEAWAYS Since March, Congress has passed five COVID-19 relief bills; each passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan votes. Congress has already provided $4 trillion for COVID-19 relief. Before authorizing additional funding, we must ensure these existing resources are being used effectively to combat the pandemic. Since March, Congress has taken unprecedented steps to help Americans respond to the coronavirus pandemic. congress has passed five bipartisan covid-19 relief... Continue Reading
January 12, 2021
2021 Policy Calendar
January 12, 2021
Additional Coronavirus Response and Relief
KEY TAKEAWAYS In December, Congress passed legislation to provide additional coronavirus response and relief. Congress has provided unprecedented support to American families, workers, and businesses affected by the coronavirus. On March 13, President Trump declared the coronavirus to be a national emergency. Since then, Congress has taken unprecedented steps to help Americans respond to the coronavirus. In early March, Congress provided $7.8 billion in discretionary supplemental... Continue Reading
December 11, 2020
GDP and the Coronavirus
KEY TAKEAWAYS In the third quarter, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 33.1%. This followed a sharp decrease in the prior quarter, amid widespread restrictions to control the spread of the coronavirus. The surge in GDP was due to rising consumer spending and to private investment, which includes business investment in assets, the change in business inventories, and residential investment. The economy has regained ground, and federal regulators are reviewing two vaccine candidates, but... Continue Reading
November 19, 2020
States Borrow to Pay Unemployment Benefits
KEY TAKEAWAYS The number of people claiming unemployment benefits has fallen since the spring, but it still is historically high. Some states have exhausted their unemployment fund reserves and have had to borrow from the federal government to continue providing jobless benefits. States may raise taxes on businesses or make other policy changes to their programs as they repay their loans and replenish their unemployment reserves; some states have already taken action to mitigate tax... Continue Reading
August 13, 2020
The Changing Gig Economy
KEY TAKEAWAYS Technological innovations and the proliferation of smartphones have driven much of the advancement of the gig, or freelance, economy in recent years. Gig economy workers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and state shutdown orders, though some fields like food delivery have seen an increase in demand. Last year, California passed a law requiring many companies to classify their workers as employees rather than independent contractors; independent contractors get... Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Update on the Coronavirus Response: HEALS Act
KEY TAKEAWAYS Congress and President Trump have provided unprecedented support to American families, workers, businesses, and health care providers affected by the coronavirus. Over the last five months, Congress has passed multiple bills to help respond to the coronavirus. This week, Senate Republicans introduced a package of eight additional bills to take the next step in coronavirus response. On March 13, President Trump declared the coronavirus to be a national emergency. He has used... Continue Reading
July 1, 2020
State of the U.S. Postal Service
KEY TAKEAWAYS The postal system is provided for in the Constitution, and has been a fundamental part of American life for more than 200 years. The U.S. Postal Service has incurred losses each year since 2007 – a total of $78 billion – including a loss of almost $9 billion in 2019. In the long term, COVID-19 may do significant economic harm to the Postal Service; in the short term, an increase in package deliveries has boosted USPS’ financial situation. The postal system has... Continue Reading