U.S. Senate News

The Freedom From Religion Foundation honored Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., three years ago with what it calls its “Emperor Has No Clothes Award,” named after the story by Hans Christian Andersen. “In the story, two weavers con a gullible emperor by selling him expensive cloth they claim is so exquisite only the very wise can…

Every year since 1961, the Department of Defense has had a National Defense Authorization Act, which sets defense policy and procurement for the coming fiscal year. Some years, the congressional passage of the law is delayed until after the fiscal year has started on Oct. 1. However, this year’s version of the bill has languished…

Last weekend, the House finally passed the nearly $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. The vote followed months of tedious back-and-forth drama between various factions within the Democratic Party. Ideally, that would be the final act in an overly long spending spree from Congress that began last year, but there’s an all-too-real chance the worst is yet…

The first 10 months of the Biden administration have brought us numerous indicators that national defense is not a priority for it—from a defense budget that fails to meet current challenges to continual expansion of nonmilitary tasks such as climate change and hitting diversity quotas to the debacle in Afghanistan. Now, Senate Democrats—seemingly taking their cues from…

In ongoing discussions with House Democrats about their ever-evolving plan to expand the role of government in American life, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly told her members: “There is no bad decision.” With trillions of dollars at stake, bad decisions are inevitable if Congress rushes through a poorly vetted plan to pay for its buffet…

The federal budget’s largest programs, especially Medicare, are growing at unsustainable rates. To ensure fiscal responsibility, Congress needs to control the growth of programs that operate on autopilot, known as mandatory spending. Although most of the congressional debate related to the Budget Control Act of 2011 over the past decade has been about placing caps…

Why are congressional Democrats breaking welfare again? In March, they transformed the child tax credit into a monthly child allowance—no work conditions attached. If made permanent, as they are now trying to do, it would be the second-largest expansion of the welfare state in U.S. history. The credit used to increase as low-income parents worked…

With instability and political unrest roiling the world stage, it is more important than ever for America to have solid allies in the Middle East, a dangerous region historically rife with conflict and dysfunction.  Americans know and understand almost innately that Israel’s values are a mirror of our own: Israel champions democracy and the rule…

Despite 20 years of U.S. operations in Afghanistan and close collaboration with the Afghan government and security forces, the Taliban recaptured the country—including the capital, Kabul—after the U.S. withdrew its forces. That prompted a similarly hurried withdrawal by international partners. Among the many tragic consequences that resulted were tens of thousands of civilians left behind,…

The Senate just passed a massive $1.1 trillion spending package filled with liberal policy priorities under the guise of supporting bipartisan government investments in infrastructure. This bill would give Washington more control over things that have normally been the responsibility of local communities, inserting politicians and bureaucrats into investment decisions. But if Congress truly wants…