Policy Papers
Executive Amnesty Goes to Court
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will determine whether the president’s unilateral changes to immigration law can go forward. The appellate court’s three judge panel appears ready to reject the Obama administration’s request to undo a lower court decision keeping its injunction of executive amnesty in place. It will most likely be the Supreme Court that will ultimately decide whether executive amnesty will move ahead. On April 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth... Continue Reading
April 14, 2015
April 2015 Policy Calendar
April 14, 2015
Obamacare Tax Day Pain
Obamacare empowered Washington and the IRS to become more involved with the health care choices of Americans. The president’s fiscal year 2016 budget requested nearly $500 million for the IRS to enforce Obamacare. Tax day will be much more complicated for Americans – seven new Obamacare tax forms to deal with new mandate penalties and complicated subsidies. Only four percent of people received a correct Obamacare subsidy in 2014; everyone else getting a subsidy will have their tax... Continue Reading
April 14, 2015
Americans Deserve a Say on Iran Deal
President Obama should want congressional approval of a nuclear agreement with Iran, to provide more robust domestic legitimacy. Where President Obama has claimed authority to act on national security issues, he has invited congressional support for those actions because he said it is best when the nation speaks with a unified voice. Creating a process for future congressional approval of a final agreement is not the same as assessing whether the deal merits approval. President Obama has... Continue Reading
April 13, 2015
Ten Questions on Iran “Framework”
A framework agreement should mean only technical details remain. Many issues remain to be finalized on the Iran nuclear deal, and they are far more than just technical details. Of what is known, not a single centrifuge will be destroyed; enrichment will continue; research and development will continue. With so many unanswered questions, congressional oversight is key. President Obama has announced a prelude to a framework to continue negotiating a final agreement over Iran’s nuclear... Continue Reading
April 13, 2015
A Doc Fix Comes to the Senate
H.R. 2 contains a permanent “doc fix” and aims to improve quality and value for Medicare patients. Congress has enacted 17 short-term “doc fixes” since 2002. Without a fix, doctors will experience a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees. H.R. 2 increases means testing for high income seniors and extends funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. This week, the Senate will consider H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which... Continue Reading
March 24, 2015
Republican Budget Balances, Obama’s Never Does
The Senate budget supports stronger economic growth, balances within 10 years, and makes responsible choices that all American families have to make when they balance their own budgets. The budget resolution that the Senate is debating makes tough choices, which President Obama again failed to do in his budget for fiscal year 2016. By slowing the rate of spending growth over 10 years, the Senate budget balances without tax increases. President Obama proposed $1.8 trillion in tax increases and... Continue Reading
March 23, 2015
S.Con.Res. 11 – Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016
Noteworthy Background: The budget resolution passed out of the Senate Budget Committee on a 12-10 vote. Chairman Enzi released background information on the budget resolution here. Floor Situation: The Senate will consider the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution during the week of March 23. Debate time is limited to 50 hours. Upon the use or yielding back of the 50 hours, the Senate will begin a “vote-a-rama” on amendments. Some amendments may receive votes during the week... Continue Reading
March 20, 2015
A Better Way on Tech Growth
The U.S. technology sector employs more than 6.3 million people, and tech trade accounts for nearly $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity. Under the Democrat Senate and the Obama administration, tech industry job growth has lagged behind the rest of the economy. Senate Republicans intend to boost growth in the tech sector by leading on patent reform, cybersecurity, digital trade, and providing regulatory sanity for the tech industry. The technology sector has become a vital part of the U.S.... Continue Reading
March 17, 2015
Iran Deal Needs Senate Review, Not Just UN Blessing
The deadline for an agreement is in one week; the administration still refuses to work with the Senate for domestic legitimacy on the deal with Iran. In a Saturday letter, the White House announced it will work with the UN Security Council for international legitimacy of the deal. Legislation for congressional review of the Iran deal has bipartisan support. In a Saturday letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Corker, White House chief of staff Denis... Continue Reading
March 17, 2015
Obamacare at Five: Higher Costs, Less Freedom
Obamacare was rushed through Congress five years ago on a partisan vote. The law is still not fully implemented, and its damaging side effects already include: higher premiums; narrow provider networks; a more far-reaching IRS; worse economic growth; discouraging work and marriage; and encouraging states to shift resources from the social safety net. Repealing and replacing Obamacare to increase choice and lower costs remains a top health care priority for Congress. Obamacare, five... Continue Reading
March 17, 2015
Republicans’ Balanced Budget
Republicans will produce a balanced budget to bring an end to the Obama-era record deficits (on average, more than $1 trillion annually) and ever-increasing debt (now over $18 trillion). Balancing the budget leads to more private investment and job growth. High debt levels subject our economy to foreign borrowing and hurts the U.S. economy. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Enzi will propose a budget resolution that would balance by the end of the 10-year budget window. For six years,... Continue Reading
March 17, 2015
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March 12, 2015
Social Security Disability Insurance Is Failing
The Social Security Disability Insurance program is failing the disabled and taxpayers. When the SSDI trust fund is depleted in 2016, payments to beneficiaries will be slashed by roughly 20 percent. The SSDI trust fund has significantly worsened during this administration, and its depletion is coming 10 years sooner than experts predicted in 2007. President Obama’s payroll tax reallocation proposal harms both retirees and the overall solvency of Social Security. The Social Security... Continue Reading
March 11, 2015
The Debt Limit Is Back
The debt limit will go back into effect on March 16. The Treasury Department can delay the date by which Congress must act until October or November of this year. Leader McConnell: “We’re … not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt.” (CBS, Face the Nation, 3/8/15) After disappearing for 13 months, the debt limit will be back on March 16. In February 2014, Congress passed P.L. 113-83, which suspended the debt limit statute. Beginning on... Continue Reading
March 10, 2015
Obamacare SCOTUS Ruling Looms
In states using the federal exchange, a ruling in favor of King would eliminate subsidies and the employer mandate, and lessen the individual mandate – significantly reducing federal spending and deficits. It would preserve separation of powers, and protect against unauthorized executive branch taxing and spending schemes. Republicans are crafting policies to protect people harmed by unlawful administration actions and to create a bridge away from Obamacare. Last week, the Supreme Court... Continue Reading
March 10, 2015
States Should Reject EPA’s Power Plant Rule
EPA’s proposed power plant rule offers states fake “flexibility” to choose which carbon-reduction measures to implement. For EPA, “flexibility” means allowing states to choose the method of their own economic wounding – and allowing EPA to shift the blame for the rule’s disastrous consequences. States should avoid this trap by refusing to be complicit in the rule that the EPA plans on finalizing this summer. Last June, the Environmental Protection... Continue Reading
March 6, 2015
February 2015 Unemployment Report
February 2015 Unemployment Rate: 5.5 percent Unemployed Americans: 8.7 million Employment and Unemployment The Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent for February, a decrease of 0.2 percent from January. It reported an increase of 295,000 nonfarm jobs over last month. Employment for December remained unchanged at 329,000 jobs created; and January was revised down from 257,000 to 239,000. The number of unemployed people in February was 8.7... Continue Reading
March 4, 2015
Supreme Court Hears King v. Burwell
The Supreme Court heard arguments today on the legality of the Obama administration’s IRS regulation extending health insurance subsidies to people in states that use the federal insurance exchanges. At issue is whether the words of the law, “through an Exchange established by the State,” refer only to state-created exchanges. The case appears to hinge on whether the justices should apply the law as written or consider the broader effect of how the law would function in... Continue Reading
March 3, 2015
Congress Welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu
If the Obama administration allows Iran to continue with its illicit nuclear program, the U.S. and the world will be less safe, less secure, and less stable. Given the administration’s past capitulations in international negotiations, any agreement on Iran’s nuclear program must be scrutinized. Any agreement needs to be accountable, enforceable and verifiable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week to speak to a joint meeting of Congress. He has not... Continue Reading