Democrat Party News
The Daily Signal provides Democrat Party news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on elections, legislation, and progressive agendas.
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- News
Indiana Lawmakers Reject Obama’s Stimulus Success Story
When President Barack Obama first visited Elkhart, Indiana, in March 2009, the county’s unemployment rate had just spiked to 18.9 percent—the highest in the country. Pointing to those numbers at the time, Obama urged Congress to pass an $800 billion economic stimulus package to keep the nation from slipping further into a recession “we may be…Philip Wegmann -
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What Obama’s Bathroom Directive Really Does
On May 13, the Obama administration sent a letter to public schools on the topic of transgender students and where they use the restroom. But the directive, issued as “significant guidance,” didn’t just apply to the bathrooms. It also entered the space of locker rooms, showers, dorms, overnight hotels, and other places you might not…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Obama’s Hiroshima Speech Reflects His Unrealistic View of History
President Barack Obama’s speech at Hiroshima was a poignant discourse on the horrors of war. He spoke eloquently of the death of innocent lives and the hope for a better tomorrow. But his trip is fraught with the potential for misinterpretation. As the end of his presidency approaches, Obama sought to resurrect his utopian vision…Bruce Klingner -
- Opinion
Senators to AG: Stop Targeting Opponents of Obama’s Energy Policies
On Thursday, five U.S. senators sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch demanding that she stop using Justice Department “law enforcement resources to stifle private debate on one of the most controversial public issues of our time—climate change.” Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., David Perdue, R-Ga., and David Vitter,…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
42 Republicans Join Democrats to Support Obama’s Transgender Agenda
On Wednesday night, 42 Republican members of Congress joined the Democrats to vote for President Barack Obama’s transgender agenda. Whereas last week Congress voted to reject this proposal—known as the Maloney amendment—last night they voted to ratify Obama’s 2014 executive order barring federal contractors from what it describes as “discrimination” on the basis of “sexual orientation and…Ryan T. Anderson -
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Texas Sues Obama Administration Over Transgender Bathroom Directive
Texas, joined by eight other states and officials from two other states, sued President Barack Obama’s administration on Wednesday over the president’s national school bathroom directive that threatens to take away federal school funding for districts that do not follow new transgender student guidance. “This is an overreach of the federal government,” Harrold Independent School…Leah Jessen -
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Students, Parents Ask Court for Permission to Halt Implementation of Obama’s Bathroom Mandate
A group of parents and students in Palatine, Illinois, who are suing the federal government over the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom policy asked a federal court on Wednesday to grant the school permission to ignore the new mandate. “Children are not guinea pigs,” a memorandum filed with the motion for a preliminary injunction states, “and they…Kelsey Bolar -
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House May Follow Senate, Advance Appropriations Bill That Spends More Than Obama Requested
The White House has threatened to veto the House’s energy and water appropriations bill, which spends more than President Barack Obama requested, but contains provisions that restrict government power. This week the House will consider the $37.5 billion spending package, which spends $259 million more than the level enacted in 2016 and $168 million above…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
3 Ways Conservative Lawmakers Should Fight Obama’s Bathroom Directive
On May 13th, the Obama administration issued “guidance” to school districts across the nation purporting to require them to allow biological boys unfettered access to girls’ lockers, showers, and bathrooms or risk losing federal education funds. On the same day it issued a new Obamacare regulation requiring federally-funded physicians, hospitals, and insurers to assist or…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
20,642 New Regulations Added in the Obama Presidency
The tide of red tape that threatens to drown U.S. consumers and businesses surged yet again in 2015, according to a Heritage Foundation study we released on Monday. More than $22 billion per year in new regulatory costs were imposed on Americans last year More than $22 billion per year in new regulatory costs were…James Gattuso -
- Opinion
Obama Raided $500M for Zika to Finance UN’s Green Climate Fund
Last week, the Senate passed legislation to address and prevent the spread of the Zika virus. However, the Senate failed to pay for it, and instead approved a $1.1 billion “emergency” spending supplemental bill that is not subject to the budgetary caps that were agreed to last year. While congressional inattention to the budget crisis…Sen. James Lankford -
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House Policy Leader Seeks to Block Obama’s School Bathroom Directive
The Republican mobilization against the White House’s transgender bathroom directive has started. A bill introduced by Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., would block the Obama administration’s guidance pushing public schools to allow students to use the restrooms of their choice. The bill, Messer told The Daily Signal, would return control of the issue to the state…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Obama’s Latest Executive Overreach Is in Medicare
The Obama administration has proposed regulatory changes in payment for Medicare Part B drugs. They’re looking to impose a broad, multi-year change through a demonstration project. Medicare demonstrations routinely test payment or delivery models in pilot programs, make a report to Congress—and lawmakers then either enact or reject the model as a statutory basis for…Robert Moffit -
- Opinion
Congress Aims to Give Debt-Ridden Puerto Rico a Free Pass as Long as Obama Wants
A House committee released the third draft of a bill aimed at helping Puerto Rico address its debt crisis. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Security Act (PROMESA) has drawn praise from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., quite an achievement for a Republican speaker. However, bipartisanship does not guarantee good policy. Stay of Litigation The…Rachel Greszler -
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3 Things Texas Is Doing to ‘Defy’ Obama’s Transgender Directive
The Obama administration’s directive that public schools give transgender students access to the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice will not stand in Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. “We are going to look at every pathway to resist the federal government,” Patrick, a Republican, said in a Wednesday interview with The Daily Signal….Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Obama’s Overtime Rule Tried at IBM, and It Didn’t Work
Juggling work and family life is hard. On Wednesday the Labor Department made it even harder for millions of salaried workers. The administration’s new overtime regulations will effectively turn them into hourly employees. The regulation won’t increase their earnings, but it will greatly reduce their control over their schedules. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires…James Sherk -
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73 House Republicans Sign Letter Demanding Answers on Obama’s Bathroom Directive
The largest conservative congressional caucus is calling into question the legality of President Barack Obama’s transgender bathroom directive for schools. Chairman Bill Flores, R-Texas, is encouraging Republican Study Committee members to sign on to a letter, pushing the Departments of Education and Justice to detail how, and on what authority, they plan to enforce the…Philip Wegmann -
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3 Ways Conservative Lawmakers Could Respond to Obama’s Bathroom Directive
The Obama administration’s bathroom directive, ordering local school districts to allow transgender students to use the restrooms of their choice, has caught congressional Republicans off guard. The response has been a mix of pessimism, frustration, and a call for the states to defy the directive at the local level. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., ventured into…Philip Wegmann -
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Mississippi Lawmakers Demand State Education Department Oppose Obama’s Transgender Guidelines
A group of Mississippi state lawmakers have joined the governor in calling for a top state education official to reject the Obama administration’s transgender student guidelines or resign. “Now Obama is threatening our school funding to force his liberal ideologies of immorality on our nation at the expense of our helpless children,” Mississippi state Rep….Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
A Former Transgender Person’s Take on Obama’s Bathroom Directive
President Barack Obama, the titular head of the LGBT movement, has added to the firestorm of confusion, misunderstanding, and fury surrounding the transgender bathroom debate by threatening schools with loss of federal funding unless they allow students to join the sex-segregated restroom, locker room, and sports teams of their chosen gender, without regard to biological…Walt Heyer